Dancing on the Dark Side
by b0wtiesarecool
Summary: "Because he's a Veela, I'm his mate and I will always put him first" she recited as if she was reading directly from a book...: War brings out the worse in everyone, especially when it comes to choosing between the ones you love and the ones you were closest too. When the war is over, the aftermath will leave them scrambling to make amends and to build a life together.
1. Chapter 1

**To those who have read this story before, I am going through and editing the chapters, so some things may be really, really different. It has obviously been awhile since I've updated a chapter, mainly because I wanted to re write a chunk of the content, hopefully this new version flows better.**

And here is Chapter 1 of my first ever Veela fanfic!

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns these characters, and the main Harry Potter plot.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1.<strong>

Hermione Granger sat alone in her small room which she shared with Ginny Weasley at Grimmauld place. Her surroundings were rather bare, something which seemed to reflect her personality lately.

The war was still raging on each day as it had been when she was 17 and still in Hogwarts. Now age 20, she felt completely lost and alone, it hadn't always been like this, it began on the day of her 20th birthday.

She woke that morning, feeling as if something was missing from her life, she looked in the mirror only to see that nothing was actually different. She still had her loose, curly brown hair which fell beneath her breasts, her plump lips were still as red as ever, and figure was same, slim but considerably filled out compared to the 17 year old girl she had been once. The only thing slightly different was her eyes, they were still large and brown, but the spark was gone.

Every day for the next six months she would have the same dreams of a mysterious guy trying his hardest to reach out to her, bur every time she called out to him and tried to grab his hand, she woke up.

The dreams were only the beginning, every day she was also haunted by a feeling that time was starting to run out.

It made her nervous to think that there was a countdown to something that seemed so huge, yet she didn't know anything about.

Most of the time she tried to brush it away as stress of the war, after all, it had been so long since any of them had felt safe, felt some normalcy.

"Mione?" a small tap at the door gained her attention, distracting her from her own deep thoughts.

Hermione rose from the bed and glided across the room, opening the door as soon as she reached it.

"Hello Harry" a smile spread across her face upon seeing her best friend standing across from her.

He returned her smile, "Would we all be able to talk to you downstairs quickly, before the raid?

Hermione opened the door wider motioning to Harry that she would. She followed him down the stairs, attempting to ignore the nagging feeling that they didn't have good news for her. He led her into the lounge area where most of the Order were standing.

"What's going on?" she eyed them suspiciously.

Lupin was the one to stand forward, "We've been hearing whispers, at first we thought them to only be rumours, but now they are becoming more frequent" he cleared his throat and looked directly into her eyes, "The death eaters are looking for you Hermione"

She stared back at the older man stunned, "Looking for me? Are you sure?" she questioned in disbelief, "Why would they want me of all people?"

The room was quiet.

"Most likely to get to me" Harry spoke up, "They could easily hold you as leverage, knowing that the Order would do anything to get you back. This is why we have agreed that you shouldn't be out on the raid with us tonight"

Hermione had to stop herself from snorting, of course if she was wanted it would only have to do with Harry, which made perfect sense, but why couldn't the reason just be about her for once? Not that she wanted that kind of attention.

She shook her head in obvious annoyance, "Yes, but you don't have any solid proof, for all we know the death eaters could just be saying that to try and get us paranoid"

"Hermione" It was Tonks who spoke to her now, "We can't do our job properly tonight if we all concerned for your safety love. Not to mention someone needs to stay here and watch over the others"

Pansy Parkinson.

They wanted her to stay and watch over the girl, even though Pansy had been staying with them for nearly a year now, many of the Order members didn't trust her.

Not that Hermione could blame them, the girl was a piece of work, in some ways she was just like Hermione. Easy to get a rise out of, with a fiery tongue. Only they were different in many ways, Pansy was a Slytherin to the core, she always made you feel as if there was something that you didn't know.

Hermione rubbed the back of her neck, "I don't agree to this but I suppose I don't have much of a choice, I'll just see you when you get back then, good luck"

The Order members began to disaparate one by one, only leaving Harry and Ron behind.

"It's okay guys, I understand" She offered them an unconvincing smile, "At least the others won't be as distracted if I'm not around them"

"We're sorry 'Mione" Ron rubbed her arm, "But we can't let anything happen to you, you're our sister"

His words didn't even sting; there had been a time where hearing something like that would have made her cry and yell at him in frustration, but not any more,

Harry squeezed her shoulder sympathetically, "After tonight we will get to the bottom of this, I promise you, but while we don't know for sure, we can't take chances"

"I know" she sighed, "Good luck"

They both pulled her into a quick hug, "See you in the morning" Harry added before they both apparated away.

A sharp stab at her heart caused Hermione to gasp, "Time is running out" she muttered to herself.

"Time for what?" She spun around to face none other than Pansy Parkinson.

Unease washed over Hermione, no one knew about her dreams, of the things that she had been feeling over the past few months, or so she thought.

The Parkinson girl was barely shorter then Hermione, her eyes shone a bright green, she had perfectly straight teeth, an upturned nose which matched her air of authority and shiny black hair which fell dead straight to her shoulders.

"Mind your own business" Hermione retorted, not feeling in the mood to fight with Pansy.

Pansy rolled her eyes at Hermione, "See that's the thing Granger" she walked closer to her, "you are my business, you're the reason why I had to come to this stupid place, and now finally, you're the reason why I can finally leave and return home"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at Pansy, "You can't go anyway, the safe house has been sealed off"

Pansy had been questioned for hours before she was allowed to be in the safe house with others. Even though some were suspicious, there was no way she could've lied to Moody of all people.

"See Granger, here's the thing" Pansy pulled her wand out from her sleeve, "Time really is running out, you know it, I know it and some other very important people to me know it"

Her thoughts flashed to the man from her dreams.

Hermione reached down to her pocket for her own wand, her eyes grew wide when she saw Pansy fish it out from her own. How could Parkinson of all people outwit her?

"Now there is something important that I need to show you, and it cannot wait" Pansy took another step closer to her, "I don't want to hurt you. Truth be told, I can't hurt you, but I will try if you don't come with me"

"I don't trust you" Hermione threw back at her, trying to ignore the persistent feeling that she needed to go with Pansy.

"It started when you were 20, didn't it? Every single day like that has been hell for you, it's like depression, you're sinking under but you have no idea why, you're noble Hermione Granger, to be feeling this way but still manage to put everyone else firts" Pansy's voice softened as she held out her hand, "I have the answers, just let me show you"

Against all her moral judgement, Hermione took the other witches hand. She immediately felt the familiar tug of side long apparition. They arrived in a long hallway, it was the door in front of them which snapped open that caused Hermione to jump in fright.

Standing before her was Narcissa Malfoy, and that was when realization kicked in.

She was in the Malfoy Manor.

"I was afraid you wouldn't make it" The elder women uttered in distraught, her watery eyes caught Hermione's.

"What's going on Pansy?" Hermione hissed, shrugging away from the other girl.

Hermione took a deep breath but it didn't seem to do anything for her, how could she have been so stupid to go anywhere with Pansy, what would Harry and Ron think of her when they arrived back to an empty safe house?

If she was careful enough she could take her wand from Pansy and apparate out. She tried to will her body to move, but it wouldn't.

"Please, Hermione, you've come this far" Pansy looked at her pleadingly, "Is he okay?" she asked Narcissa.

Narcissa took in a deep breath, "It gets worse as each day passes, he collapsed not too long ago" She told Pansy shakily, "What does she know?"

Pansy shook her head, "Nothing, I couldn't waste any more time, I thought it would be better to show her instead"

Narcissa nodded her thanks and gestured for Hermione to enter the room, "Please, it's time that you know everything"

Hermione's body automatically walked forward, leaving Pansy standing alone in the hallway.

"I don't understand" Hermione's eyes began to fill with tears, "Are you going to kill me?"

Narcissa squeezed her hand, "Of course not, I'll explain everything, once your inside."

She continued wordlessly through the door, Narcissa following behind her. The bedroom was dark, the only illumination was from the nights sky. On the bed was a motionless figure, obviously asleep. As she moved further into the room, white blonde hair caught reflection of the light. The man on the bed was none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Please sit" Narcissa motioned to two chairs that were facing the bed.

Hermione sat wordlessly, she had to stop herself from reaching out and grabbing his hand.

"The Malfoy name is well distinguished as I'm sure you know," Narcissa began in a hushed voice, "It's always been known for its purity, its money, its prejudice, and also its secrets. Six generations ago, the eldest son of Abraxas Malfoy was bitten by a Veela. It was extraordinary circumstances, never had anything like this happened before"

Hermione gave a small nod to let the witch know she was listening closely.

"The venom injected into the boy somehow turned him into a Veela, a rare case indeed. It came as a surprise to the family that from that boy onwards, each Malfoy boy would have Veela blood and in turn would suffer the transformation upon 17 years of age"

Hermione breathed in sharply, her eyes zoning in on Draco.

"Veela's know their mates long before their bond officially recognizes it and by 20 they begin to suffer every day until they find their mate and bond with them. Veela's always find a match in someone who is compatible with them, or with someone who completes who they are" Narcissa paused.

"And what would happen if they didn't?" Hermione turned to face Narcissa, of all that she had read, she had never seen much about male Veela's, the concept was rather frightening.

She shook her head sadly, "It's not a common outcome, after all both the mate and Veela feel the same affects, they don't feel whole without each other. But if the Veela did not happen to bond with his mate, he would then die from a broken heart on his the moment that his 21st birthday ended"

Draco was older then her, by at least six months, that would place him nearly at 21.

"He's 21 in four days" his mother spoke so softly this time Hermione almost missed it.

Hermione rose from her seat, "What does this have to do with me?" she asked her panicked.

Narcissa also stood from chair, "My dear, you already know the answer to that"

Lady Malfoy exited the room slowly, leaving a gaping Hermione standing next to the bed.

"I'm his mate?" she asked herself bewildered. Logically it made sense, they were both intelligent people, top of their classes. He was always cold and reserved around others while she was tending and caring. There were many things that Draco Malfoy wasn't that Hermione could make up for.

Hermione stood beside his bed for a few minutes feeling conflicted at his mothers words, curiosity got the better of her and she reached out to stroke the side of Draco's face.

His eyes snapped open immediately, his wrists were quick to grab her own and pull her onto the bed next to him.

"They found you" he breathed a heavy sigh of relief, hovering over her.

She sucked in a breath as he pressed his body into heres, nuzzling his face into her neck, her heart was beating so fast she thought that it would explode from her chest.

Malfoy was a Veela.

She was his mate.

They would have to bond!

The facts of the situation all ran through her head.

Oddly enough, she wasn't too bothered by it. Instead she felt immensely relieved, the pressure that she had been feeling over the last few months had suddenly lifted.


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm sure everyone here is interested to see where this story is going. So here's a little heads up Most Dramione is based around Hermione saving Draco from the Dark Side. _

_Thank you to LilyAurora, cosmoGirl666, bstephen2693, deepsrani, PLacIDwiCkedNEss, TygTag and gravity01 for your reviews, they pushed me to edit this chapter more quickly, so this one is for you guys! p.s TygTag, you're review made me want to cry! Haha, It's great you love it so much :)_

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns the characters and main storyline.

Warning: Lemon ahoy!

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><p>Chapter 2.<p>

Hermione was completely frozen, "Are you hurt?" Draco asked her, his brow furrowed in concern.

She shook her head mutely, taking in a deep breath and blinking a few times she opened her mouth to speak, "You're really a Veela?" it seemed like a stupid question to ask, especially after his mother had just explained the Malfoy history to her.

What else was she expected to say?

His molten silver eyes bore into her, memorizing her with their beauty, "That I am, but all's that matters now is that you understand you are my mate, Hermione"

"Am I a prisoner?"

Her question stung him deeply, all of his emotions were flying across his face. Draco Malfoy had never been this easy to read, never.

He reluctantly moved away from her to lay on his back, "I suppose you would see it as that, but you are only a prisoner here as long as you chose to reject your true purpose"

Her true purpose. Hermione was terrified now.

"And what would my true purpose be?" she questioned avoiding his eyes.

Draco shifted onto his side, her eye caught the black atrocity that was imbedded into his left arm, she reached out to stroke it gently.

"To join me" Draco whispered huskily, "You don't belong to Harry Potter and his sidekicks any more Hermione, you belong to me"

Her heart was up in her throat instantly, she felt like she was going to vomit. Any thought that Harry could still be right about leverage was gone. They didn't want her to hold against Harry, they wanted to turn her into one of them.

"With the death eaters?" Hermione questioned terrified.

"No" Draco growled, "with me"

Draco let out a yawn and pulled her closer to him, nuzzling his face into her neck once again. It wasn't long before he fell asleep. If she was in any other situation, she would have considered his soft snores to be adorable, or admired how beautiful he was when he was asleep and relaxed with no scowl.

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, willing to wake up from this nightmare. Sleep managed to conquer her after some time, only taking her away from reality for a little.

...

Hermione Granger awoke the next more completely alone. The curtains had been drawn in his room and it was fully lit. His room could be considered to be normal, for any child that lived in a wealthy family, there were no incredulous amounts of green anywhere. In fact the room was depressing if anything, the furniture varied from greys to blacks. Looking down at his bed, she noticed that it was silk, of course Draco Malfoy would have silk black sheets.

She sucked in a deep breath when she saw that she was no longer wearing her jeans and shoes. Instead she wore her oversized blue knitted jumper. Who had undressed her?

Hermione leaped out of the bed and began to search the room, opening all the drawers in Draco's desk, and his dresser until finally she reached another door. Opening it she found his walk in wardrobe.

"My clothes" she whispered in shock.

Sure enough, every scrap of clothing that belonged to her was either hanging in the back of the closet or folded on the shelving. Walking in further, Hermione saw that her shoes were all paired underneath her clothing.

If they had gone to all the trouble to take her things, which meant that she would not be leaving anytime soon.

She ruffled through her clothes to find something to change into, it didn't take her long to find a pair of ankle length tights, underwear and a Gryffindor long sleeve jersey that Harry had given to her for one Christmas.

Hermione continued to snoop around the room, opening another door revealed Draco's ensuite. Surely he wouldn't mind if she showered before attempting to escape. It looked like they had been thorough when moving all of her things; all of her toiletries were placed in different parts of the bathroom. It was all a little to creepy for her liking.

Not wanting to waste time, she showered quickly before dressing and pulling on a pair of boots which were silent and exactly what she needed.

Scanning Draco's room, Hermione decided to try the window first. She rushed forwards, prying it open.

"Time is running out" There it was again, for some reason she could never stop herself from saying those four automated words. While she had noticed the feeling of urgency, and her somewhat depression had lessened dramatically since last night, everything was still not okay.

The bedroom was on the second floor, but if she could work her way to the first floor ledge it wouldn't be far to jump.

Hermione swung both of her legs out of the window, using the houses stone bearing to the side of her, she slid down to the first floor ledge.

This was too easy.

Gripping her hands on the ledge, she let her body drop down before letting go completely.

Falling into one of Narcissa's gardens probably wasn't the best idea but it broke her fall.

"Hermione!" Snapping her head back towards the wall, she saw the entire Malfoy family, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini gaping at her.

Panic overtook her and she began to sprint towards the edges of the Malfoy grounds, ignoring all of their shouts.

She had almost made it to the edge of the grounds when a person tackled her, spinning her above them before she could slam into the ground. They landed first, and she fell ungracefully on the top of them.

"Oh, it's you" she sighed unhappily at her chaser.

Draco smirked at her, "Did you really think that I would let my mate leave me like that? Without a wand nether less"

Some witch she was, forgetting that Pansy had never returned her wand.

"Draco" She bit her lip, looking at him from under her eye lashes, "When can I leave?"

His smirked returned once again, "Why would you want to leave love?"

He pushed her off of him gently, although she could feel his excitement pressing into her, proving that he had liked her in that position very much.

Draco stood, brushing the grass off his freshly pressed grey slacks and matching button up shirt.

"Come" he held a hand out to her and she took it, "Nice shirt my little Gryffindor" he commented chuckling to himself.

Hermione took his hand wordlessly, with no wand there was no chance of escape.

Draco never let go of her hand as they walked back to the Manor, they walked quickly, moving past many unfamiliar rooms and corridors. It was a few minutes before Draco finally stopped, he placed his hand on a large door and it began to open.

Hermione's jaw dropped at the sight before her, the room was a cross between a library and an office. If anything, it definitely had more books than Hogwarts.

Draco chuckled, bringing her attention back to him, "I thought you would like it"

She nodded mutely, enemy or not, this room was certainly impressive.

Draco sat on a large sofa and motioned for Hermione to join him, "Actually, I was hoping that we could talk Hermione"

She sat on the other side of the couch.

"See I have three days left to live if you chose to not bond with me. I know that you will most likely drag me about with mixed signals for the next few days if I didn't have a word in it" He searched her eyes for any show of emotion, "I understand that in the past years you and I have never, well, never been civil. But I assure you for many of those years, I always knew you were my mate. It always pained me to see you with Potter and Weasel"

"They will come looking for me, you know that right?" Hermione avoided looking directly at him, "It will be obvious now that Pansy is gone and they will put the pieces together instantly"

Draco shrugged, "So be it, this has nothing to do with them Hermione" she shivered as he pronounced her name once again.

He slid down the remainder of the couch and reached out to touch her leg, "I want you," the lust in Draco's voice caused her emotions to go hay wire, she could only hope that he didn't notice the affect this was having on her.

"I need you Hermione" His face inched closer towards hers, "I need you to bond with me, tonight, I physically can't wait any longer" he whispered into her ear.

This was Draco Malfoy. The amazing bouncing ferret. The most stuck up pure blood she had ever met. She should be extremely grossed out by him.

"If I bond with you, you will turn me against everything I stand for" she shuddered as he began to place feathery kisses along her neck.

Draco grabbed her chin and turned her head so she was looking directly at him, "If you bond with me, which you will my love, I'll let you decide"

Her face screwed up in anger, "There's no decision to make, I will never support you and I will never support him. It's only a matter of time before I'm rescued Draco, so you are right, time is ticking before I'm gone for good"

The words felt like a lie, she wanted to mean them more than anything, but she just couldn't.

He flexed his arms, trying to contain his anger at Hermione, "I would do anything for you Hermione, and if I think you were in harm's way, I would doing anything to protect you" she felt her heart tug at the rawness of his words, only Draco could be back and forth between emotions like this, "I guess you're going to have to find that out the hard way"

Draco stood from the couch and Hermione could feel the cold air rushing in to take his place.

Her stomach churned as she thought about the emptiness that she had been feeling for so long. If she chose not to bond with him, he would die and if she did, she would be living in a house full of Death Eaters.

If his bond would do anything to protect her from harms way, she would be safer from Voldemort with Draco rather than without.

She quickly grabbed his hand before he made a move to leave.

"Ever since I turned 20, I have felt empty. I'm sure you know what it's like to want to cry at times because you're missing something and you don't know what it is. I'm not denying that I don't feel anything when I'm with you, because I do and I don't know what that is" She bit her lip, "I will bond with you Draco, but don't expect me to change sides. I will do everything in my power to help Harry defeat your Dark Lord"

Leaning down, Draco placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "Whatever you say my love"

...

After their conversation Draco had left her alone in the library, claiming he had business to attend to, no doubt it had to do with Voldemort. Hermione had been quick to learn how to access books in the library, sourcing information on Veela's. The list was endless on what Veela's would provide or do for their mates, no wonder she had been feeling so miserable lately.

What conflicted her the most was the connection of the mate to the Veela before bonding, the sense of urgency and loneliness varies from mate to mate, but the stronger those feelings were before bonding, the more powerful and sensitive the bond would be with the Veela later.

Dinner was a quiet affair and an awkward one. In the back her mind, she knew that she couldn't leave the Manor empty handed. Anything that she could pick up here would change things drastically for the Order. Hermione had tried to catch as much conversation as possible.

The walk to his bedroom that night was torturous, Hermione had read little about the actual bonding, it would be different considering that Draco wasn't actually a pure Veela. To bond they would still need to consummate their union as Veela and mate.

If Harry and Ron had ever found out that she had gone along with this they would be beyond furious. How was she supposed to tell that she was sleeping with the enemy who was her mate, even though he had bullied them for years.

"If you don't want to do this tonight, you don't have too" Hermione looked up startled, she hadn't even realised that they reached his room.

Her heart began to beat quickly and she could feel her face drain of colour from nerves.

Looking up at Draco she was surprised to see how tender his expression was, she knew that he truly meant what he had said, but there was no way he would survive another night without bonding with her. No matter what he had done to her in the past, she couldn't let him die, she wasn't that kind of person.

Hermione lifted her hand and placed it on the side of his face, "I don't know why, and maybe it shouldn't be like this, but I want this Draco" and so she did, there was no way she could deny this to him.

He waited for no more speech, slamming his mouth down on hers, he pushed her back further in the room. His hands were everywhere, frantic in their motions to room any clothing in between them.

Draco pulled away abruptly leaving Hermione gasping for air; he wasted no time in pulling her shirt over her hand and pushing her onto his large bed. A moan slipped out from her lips as he began to kiss and nip his way down her shoulder bone, past both of her breasts and towards the top of her tights. She could feel herself becoming extremely damp as he removed the last piece of decent clothing from her body.

Moving back up, Draco rolled over, pulling Hermione on top of him, her cheeks heated upon feeling his fully erect member underneath his pants. Hermione ran her hands along his chest, her hands fumbling to unbutton his shirt. Draco grew quickly frustrated when she had only managed to undo a few buttons, she watched in awe as he ripped her shirts and all the buttons popped off simultaneously.

"Do you still want this?" He asked her after he had removed his own pants.

"I, I've never done this before" she admitted blushing a deep shade of red.

Draco chuckled deeply, "Good" he smirked, "because you're mine and no one else"

She shivered at the intensity of his gaze.

Any other clothing left was quickly discarded of; leaving Hermione feeling more self conscious then she had ever felt in her life.

Her Veela took a moment to gaze upon her whole body, stroking one hand down her side. She didn't know whether she should have been comforted by the intensity of his eyes as he took in the sight of her, or worried.

"It might be selfish, but I can't wait any longer" his voice was hoarse.

She completely understood, he had been waiting since he had known her to be his mate. For him to have waited for so long must of been extremely difficult, even when he was 17.

Hermione nodded in understanding.

Draco leaned in to nip her ear, at the same time she could feel the tip of his member at her entrance, "Tonight I bond with you, next time I will make love to you my mate"

This time, she was the one to initiate a kiss, who cared what her friends thought? There was no way that she could be denied Draco Malfoy, they were made for each other.

As he began to enter her, she threaded her fingers through his soft blonde hair, tugging slightly whenever she felt pain.

"This is going to hurt" he kissed her nose.

Leaving her no time to think about it, Draco thrust through her virgin barrier, placing kisses all over her face as she cried out in pain. He waited for a moment to give her time to adjust to the new sensation.

Hermione could feel as a tear slid down the side of her face and as Draco caught it with his finger. His sensitivity was surprising to her. When he made no move to continue, she bucked her hips upwards, curious to experience more with him.

Smirking at her, he began to pull in and out, settling with a calm rocking motion. Hermione didn't know much about sex, only little things that she had read in a variety of books. One thing she didn't expect was for it to feel so good.

She moaned once again, trying to quieten it, afraid of Draco judging her. He thrust into her deeply, letting her know that he wanted more.

"Don't hold back, bond with me" she breathed out, trying to concentrate on his face.

No more encouragement was needed from his mate, Draco growled as he began to thrust into Hermione more roughly, pulling her hips down to meet him halfway.

Her moans grew louder and louder and the pleasure was becoming more unbearable. Her senses were building up and she had a fair idea what come next.

With a loud grunt, Draco rammed into her one last time, her walls closed around him as she cried out in her own orgasm. What she didn't expect was for him to bite the base of her neck as they rode each other out.

When they both were finished, Draco rolled off of her, breathing in heavily. Hermione's hand crept up to her neck where he had marked her.

"My venom is seeping through you now, the bond will be complete in the morning once it has spread throughout your whole body" Draco explained once he caught his breath.

Hermione rolled onto her side, no longer concerned about her nakedness, "Will you be okay now?"

He pulled her body right up against his own, "You have saved me Hermione Malfoy"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "We aren't married Draco, its still Granger"

"We are bonded, marriage is only paper, our bond if for life" he placed a kiss on her temple and closed his eyes, a smile on his face.

Hermione couldn't help but to feel extremely calm, the happiness radiating from Draco was making her heart melt.


	3. Chapter 3

Edited: 25.1.15

_Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns the original works of Harry Potter and the characters._

Chapter 3.

Hermione Jean _Malfoy _nee Granger was absolutely furious at herself.

Bonding with Draco Malfoy was completely understood in her eyes. It was a necessary act, which she just happened to enjoy immensely, in order saving his life.

Now they were mates.

Although, that didn't explain why, the next morning she had given into him, twice! She didn't get the sweet love that she was promised last night, instead Draco had been in a hurry to have all of her before he had to leave to meet with the Dark Lord.

She wondered what Voldemort thought about her being here, bonded with a Malfoy. Surely he couldn't be accepting. Not only had she had access to the Order, but he considered her blood to be filthy. Just like Draco, or was that different for him now that she was his mate?

If Voldemort knew she was he, he would most likely pry information from her, the thought made her blood run cold.

It wasn't like he could torture her; Draco's bond with her would prevent that from happening, unless

Voldemort didn't care if Draco got hurt too or not.

Her goal now was to find Narcissa Malfoy, if Draco was a Veela that must mean that Lucius was one as well.

The elder which wasn't hard to locate, she was sitting in a pavilion in the middle of the Malfoy grounds gardens sipping tea. Hermione had never seen something so posh before.

"Ah, Hermione, I was wondering how long it would be before you sought me out?" she smiled at her now daughter-in-law and placed the tea cup on its matching plate.

"Lucius is a Veela?" Hermione asked her directly.

Narcissa laughed, waving her hand for Hermione to sit across from her, "Pale skin, white blonde hair, striking grey eyes, it truly is a mystery how no one in our world has realized. But yes, my

Lucius is part Veela, similar Draco."

Part Veela, so that meant they were somewhat different from the Fleur.

"Could you perhaps explain the difference to me, a part Veela from a full" Hermione asked hesitantly.

Narcissa gave the younger girl a small smile, "Lucius's mother was a full Veela, his father was a pureblood wizard, and Lucius is a half Veela. The Veela line gets weaker every generation as new blood is introduced. The quantities of the Veela's are somewhat dampened. While both Lucius and Draco have the same physical appearance as Lucius' father, they do not show the same characteristics. The true Veela characteristics, such as transforming when angry. Draco does not show anything like that. However, we have always known that he would need to find a mate to survive"

Hermione sat quietly while Narcissa poured her a cup of tea.

"It's not safe me being here, even if I've bonded with Draco, I'm still a muggleborn, I'm still a part of the Order. My best friend is _Harry Potter_. It doesn't matter how important I am to Draco, _he who must not be named_ will not care!" Hermione suddenly felt a wave of emotion overcome her, when she was with Draco they somewhat subsided, she had felt safe. Now, without him near, her mind was clear and the danger of her situation felt like a heavy weight on her shoulders.

Narcissa squared her shoulders, and straightened her posture once more. She was the perfect image of a pureblooded matriarch. "As long as you are here, and in our families care, no harm will befall you. Lucius and I will ensure that as much as Draco will"

"Was Lucius a death eater when you bonded?" Narcissa flinched at the venom in Hermione's tone.

Pushing the tea away from her, she leaned forwards, "He was. That does not change the fact that family is above all in Lucius' eyes. Call if a Veela flaw if you will. Our family is running on pure luck that the Dark Lord has not exploited this. In time, there are certain things that you will come to understand dear. Lucius has been a death eater for many years, and I, just as my third sister, had nothing to do with _him, _but after our bonding things changed. I wasn't interested in sides of a war, I found myself drawn to the side that Lucius was supporting. Hermione, it's inevitable, stop trying to create walls and sides, stop trying to push it away"

Tears sprung to Hermione's eyes, "No" she choked out, "I'm not weak, I will do anything possible to help Harry and Ron end this, I can't let the sides blend, and I can't get caught up in the grey"

Narcissa looked at her sadly, "I truly a sorry for the time that this has all occurred, but you will do anything and everything for my son. You are his mate"

This wasn't what she wanted to hear, but deep down Hermione had thought Narcissa would say something among those lines.

Tears began to stream down her face, "You need to help me escape"

"Draco will find you wherever you are, I tried the same, and this isn't something you could run from. Not to mention, it is safer for you here than anywhere else. If word was to get out, you'd be putting us all in danger from both sides"

Hermione jumped out of her seat and began to run back towards the Manor, she needed to find her wand. Her friends would understand, they would be able to help her. It was better that they knew rather than Voldemort.

As soon as she reached Draco's room, she snapped her fingers summoning a house elf.

"Where has Draco hidden my wand?" she questioned it, trying to keep her voice calm.

It squeaked in response, obviously terrified, "Master has told us not to let missus have her wand until Master says so"

She clenched her fists in frustration, "A note! What if I give you a note, can you send it for me?"

The house elf looked at its feet, shaking with worry, "Give to who missus?"

It couldn't be sent to an address, that would compromise safe houses, or to any person deeply involved in the order. A thought struck her.

"Pansy Parkinson" the elf seem relieved at the name of Draco's childhood friend.

Hermione ran over to the desk, pulling out parchment and a quill.

_You were the one to take me, you owe it to me to deliver this message._

_I'm safe__ for now._

_Don't come looking for me._

_I will find you when I can._

_There is a lot you need to know._

_Love H_

Folding the parchment, Hermione placed it into the awaiting hands of the house elf, "Thank you" she told it sincerely.

It didn't recognise her thanks; instead it bowed its head and disappeared with a click.

Hermione moved back to the desk, carefully placing everything back in its original position. She still didn't know the 'terms' to her stay at the Manor, having Malfoy flip out at her wasn't something that she particularly wanted.

"Re-arranging my things are you?" she snapped up straight, smoothing her pants down, Hermione turned around slowly to face Draco.

"Just admiring your quills" she lied, tilting her head to smile at him.

His eyes narrowed, "No need to lie to me Hermione, the elf showed me the note. I am his Master of course"

Dread washed over Hermione, "I didn't stop it from delivering your message to Parkinson I assume, like I said Hermione, you're the only one who considers you to be a prisoner. Your safety is in my best interest"

Hermione pursued her lips,"You let a message get to the Order for me?" something stirred inside her, but she tried to squash the feeling.

Draco looked smug, "I'm not always a monster love. You should be more careful from now, just because Parkinson is delivering it doesn't mean that it is safe from interception"

Hermione felt urged to move closer to Draco, she stopped directly in front of him and looked up into his silver orbs. The bond with him was confusing to her, she wanted nothing more to research extensively how she could feel so connected to him after she had spent so long despising him.

"Thank you" he stiffened at first when she wrapped her arms around his torso.

This Veela did not expect his mate to be so affectionate so quickly.

He rested his head on the top of hers, "We will dine with my family tonight, my father may have some questions for you" he ignored the way that she froze, "It's under agreement that any information you give will be willing and you cannot be forced to confessing to anything. I will be there the whole time, piece of cake"

Narcissa's words ran through her mind. Hermione didn't want to be surrounded by any more death eaters then possible, the pull to Draco's side would be inevitable. She could feel their bond growing stronger each day. The unmistakable feeling of love, but loving someone and being in love with someone is a completely different thing.

"Do you love me?" she questioned squeezing him tighter, curious as to his answer.

He kissed the top of her head softly, "I love you with all of my heart"

Even though they were in the middle of a war, and on opposite sides, Hermione felt quite content with Draco's response. The restless feeling that had been nagging her for so long was finally beginning to fade.

_Please hurry Harry _she begged silently, _I don't know how much longer I can last._

Dinner was to be served at Malfoy Manor, only it wouldn't just be the Malfoy's attending. Draco had let on that Pansy and Blaise would be back once again with another boy Theodore Nott, and Snape.

On Draco's request, she wore an ankle length black dress, it looked rather elegant for a dinner. The dress was mostly strapless however the shoulders and front was made from black lace. Draco had also given her a pair of black heels to with it and got Pansy to fix her makeup.

"Is it normal to dress like this for dinner?" Hermione asked her.

Pansy softly laughed, "Yes, but only this formal when it's an important dinner, such as tonight"

Hermione was quiet for a moment, watching as Pansy braided a chunk of Hermione's hair to use in the place of a head band. The end result was impressive, she wore barely any foundation, and instead Pansy had used a bronze blusher on her cheeks, gave her smoky eyes and smothered her eyelashes in mascara.

"Did you deliver my message?"

Pansy stood away from Hermione, packing up the make-up, "I hope you don't mind, but I asked Severus too, it's not like I can go back there without them catching me. I was only there in the first place to wait for you"

Hermione sighed, "As long as they get it"

"I suppose" she responded airily, obviously not too concerned by it at all, "Draco will escort you into the dinner room; we are to wait for him in the dining corridor"

Hermione stood and together they began to walk through the Malfoy Manor. Her stomach was knotting up in nerves.

Draco was waiting for her at the dining room door, just as Pansy had said. Pansy walked straight into the dining room, leaving her alone with Draco.

"You look stunning" her heart fluttered at his words.

"And you look handsome" Hermione returned the flattery, impressed with his black and grey striped wizard robes.

Draco Malfoy always looked good, there was no denying it.

"Are you ready?" Draco raised his hand ready to open the doors for them to enter.

Hermione shuddered, "Will I ever be?"

He laughed and bent down to kiss her temple, "I doubt it"

Clicking his fingers, the dining room doors swung open, from where they were standing Hermione could see that she and Draco were the last to arrive.

Silently, she sat in the seat that Draco pulled out for her.

"I am sure that you have many questions" Lucius began, "but for now let us eat, and then we may talk"

There was quite chatter around the table as they all eat. Hermione picked at her food, she was too nervous to think about eating.

"You're not eating much" Draco frowned.

Hermione shrugged, "I'm not too hungry"

They sat in silence until Lucius took a drink from his wine goblet and placed his napkin on his plate.

"One question" he nodded at her.

Hermione bit her lip, twisting her hands in her lap.

"Who knows that I am here?" She asked finally.

Lucius smirked, "Not the Dark Lord if that is what you mean. As Narcissa told you, your presence here is being kept the utmost secret, he and most of our fellow followers would not be as understanding as us"

"And what of the Order?" she swallowed thickly, she longed to talk to her friends.

"You've had them in a frenzy for the past 48 hours" Snape drawled.

Hermione took a sip of her wine, "I can only imagine what they think have happened"

Snape smirked at her, it must be a Slytherin thing, and "They believe that the rumors were right, that the Death Eaters snatched you in order to hold you prisoner as leverage against Potter"

"Do they know where I am? Are they searching for me?" Her questions slipped out before she could contain herself.

Of course if they were looking for her, their lives would be in danger, not only that but they would be wasting her time. Draco would destroy every Order member before he would let any of them take her.

"That I don't know" Snape drawled, "I only know that they believe you are held captive in the Malfoy dungeons. I am sure it is a matter of time before the fools try something rash to 'free' you"

Logically, if Hermione had been captured, that was where she would be taken. Only Harry and Ron were missing key points of what had happened, anything that they would try would only make everything worse, not only for her and Draco, but for the Order.

"Oh" She took another sip of her wine, adverting her eyes from her old Professor.

"Where is the Order headquarters?" Lucius asked suddenly.

"I don't know" Hermione blurted out.

Her brows furrowed at her quick answer.

"Is it under a Fiduelus charm?" He asked again, just as quick.

"Yes"

She bought the wine up to her lips, but stopped and eyed it off suspiciously.

Across the table Lucius opened his mouth to ask another question.

"Stop" Hermione stood from her chair, hands clenched, "Veritaserum won't work on me, not to get the answers you're after, and we've taken precautions"

Draco had lied to her. Did he really think that she was an idiot and could give away information so easily? Luckily the Fidelius charm prevented her from giving away any locations of the Order safe houses.

She couldn't contain her anger as she turned to Draco, "I thought you said information wouldn't be taken against my will. Some life mate you are"

Her heart contracted as she saw hurt cross his face, she could feel their bond throbbing behind her anger, trying to calm her.

Without a second look at the table, she stalked out of the dining room, and made her way back to the bedroom.

She could hear footsteps behind her, catching up quickly.

"Leave me alone" she cried out, without turning around.

"Hermione!"

"This is all so messed up" she whirled around, poking him in the chest as he reached her, "This _bond _that I have with you, even though it is so new is making me feel so, so _safe_ but I'm not. I'm a muggleborn, a member of the Order staying under the same roof as Death Eaters. You're father said _He_ doesn't know I'm here, well we both know that it's only a matter of time before he does. If your father suddenly gave him important information about the Order, don't you think _He _would suspect something?!"

"Everyone in the Manor is sworn to secrecy, your life isn't the only one in danger, if something happened to you, I wouldn't survive" Draco reached out and grabbed her hand.

Hermione shook her head, "Snape said it himself, the Order knows I'm missing, even once they get my letter they will still think I am being held captive here, _He_ will find out. You and your family are bloody imbeciles if you think any different. It's only a matter of time before the death eaters figure it out as well"

"I'll talk to my father" Draco whispered, pulling her into a hug, "I will protect you from anything, even the Dark Lord, after all nothing can come between a Malfoy and what he wants"

She could hear the smirk in his voice and pulled away. Her Veela was truly a Malfoy even though he wasn't as bad as the brat he was in third year when she punched him.

"Are you coming to bed?" Draco asked her gently, running his hand up and down her arm.

Hermione shook her head, "I might stay up for a little while"

Draco nodded and leaned down and pressed his lips lightly to hers.

"Don't stay up too long" He pulled her into a gentle hug, before walking down the hallway.

Once Draco was out of sight, Hermione made her way to the library. She still couldn't believe the size of it. If there wasn't a war, and Draco and his family weren't on the opposite side to her, she could definitely get used to life at the Manor.

Upon spotting his desk, Hermione made a beeline to the back of the room. If she couldn't fight alongside the Order, what was stopping her from giving them information? Well, besides the obvious problem of not being able to send information to them, but if she was to write everything down, it could be a huge help if she could give it to them when an opportunity presented itself.

Quietly she began to rummage through the draws, looking for a blank book or parchment to take with her.

"Quite the sneak aren't you?" A hiss next to her ear caused Hermione to jump up in panic, releasing a squeal. Spinning around she came face-to-face with Blaise Zabini.

His eyes were like lightening as he glared at her, "You'll be the death of Draco"

She gulped and leaned back further into the desk, "What are you talking about?" she stuttered, trying to act ignorant.

Blaise laughed and moved in closer to her, "You're selfish. As long as you try to help Potter, you are putting Draco in danger"

Her eyes turned downward, avoiding his intense gaze. His left arm caught her eye, there was no dark mark.

"I would never let them harm Draco" She glared at him, she attempted to shove past him, but he caught her wrist stopping her.

"If that was true, then you would have gone to bed with him right now, but you're didn't, and it doesn't look like you came here for books" Blaise released his grip on the smaller girl and took a step back.

"He's like a brother to me" Blaise all but growled, "You may be his mate, but I won't let that blindside me when I am protecting him"

Once outside the doorway, Hermione picked up her dress and broke into a run towards the bedroom.

Draco wasn't in bed like Hermione had thought. Instead, he was standing out on the open balcony wearing nothing but his flannel pajama pants. Kicking off her heels, Hermione joined him outside.

Wrapping her arms around his bare back, she inhaled his scent with relief.

Shifting in her arms, Draco moved so that they were facing each other, "A run in with Blaise?" he questioned.

Hermione looked up at him with wide eyes, confused to how he had known that.

"His scent" Draco provided meekly, "It's all over you?"

"I'll bathe" Hermione told him quietly.

Draco pulled her closer, "That's not what I meant" he whispered into her hair, "I still don't know if I can trust you as my mate yet"

"I promise" Hermione squeezed him, "that you can trust me no matter what"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

The following week flew by quickly, everyone was on edge and no one was telling Hermione what was going on. Whenever she asked Draco, he tensed up and told her that she was better off not knowing yet.

Whatever they were all hiding from her, it wasn't good and that was only confirmed to her by Pansy after a few days.

On top of that, she felt as if she had a split personality. Whenever Draco wasn't around she could concentrate so much better, she felt panicked about her situation. When he was close by all she could think about was him and their bond, she had never felt so at ease.

After searching through many books and journals in the Manor's library she had found that it was normal. Some of the mates had referred to it as the adjusting period, the time before the bond settled and things went back to something that resembled normality.

As much as it helped to know that, she sometimes was finding it difficult to adjust to the fluctuating emotions. There were times when she didn't even feel like the old Hermione. Everything was just too different for her now compared to before.

Would her friends recognise the person she was changing into? As much as she wanted to hold onto the hate for Draco in order to hold onto what she had before, she couldn't. She had already accepted their bond, meaning that their bonding was only strengthening.

Blaise had been following her whenever Draco was out running errands. One morning Hermione had cornered him and questioned him about his dark mark or rather lack of.

"You're a Death Eater but you have no mark" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, demanding an answer.

Blaise tilted his head and grinned at her, "I was wondering when you would ask" he chuckled, "Not all Death Eaters take the mark, and some have it placed in hidden areas, it's a way to get around unnoticed. However, my family has always remained neutral in these matters, I have not taken the mark seeing as I have no cemented beliefs"

"That's sneaky of them" Hermione snorted, on the inside she began to panic.

That meant that there were people out there that the Order would have no idea of their allegiances.

"Hey, Blaise?" Hermione began hesitantly; he looked at her silently waiting for her to continue, "Have you heard anything of the Order and their thoughts of me being at the Manor?"

He pondered her question over, "You've been here just over a week, I'm certain they received your letter soon after you sent it, yes I know about that. From what Snape is saying, they strongly believe you are being held captive here and were forced to write the letter"

"In that case, I hope they don't try to rescue me, that could be disastrous" Hermione was starting to feel uneasy, she knew that Ron and Harry would convince the Order that it was in their best interest to save Hermione and bring down a Death Eater fort at the same time.

She was hoping to be able to contact them on her terms, when there was no chance that people would be hurt.

The small talk with Blaise left Hermione feeling on edge for the rest of the morning.

Her newly found friendships proved to be beneficial, with Draco constantly away she relied heavily on Pansy and Blaise to find out what was going on. As it turned out, after Pansy had taken her from the safe house, the Order restricted their information completely, making sure that only certain people were told things and that not every member had access to key information.

By the sounds of the Order's attacks, they were still carrying out some of the plans which Hermione helped created. This put her exactly in the middle. She didn't want to spill their secrets, but she couldn't stand to see Draco so stressed out.

The other attacks that had since been created during her time in the Manor were well crafted, but in hindsight Hermione could partially predict they ways that certain things would be done.

It was a late Sunday night when Draco had finally returned to the Manor. Hermione was reading alone in the library and was relieved to see that he had finally come back after being out for the whole day. The bond within her craved to be close to him after being separated.

He looked beyond tired, and only managed a tiny smile as she walked straight to his desk. She tried to ignore the rustling of papers and his frustrated sighs.

Against her better judgment, she glided over to the desk and began to rub his shoulders soothingly from behind. She found that she was stung by his lack of acknowledgement to her.

Over the week their bond as mates seemed to grow increasingly strong, being the book smart girl that she was, she had consulted every single book in the Manor's library relating to Veela's and their mates. A mate was completely dependent on their Veela, all of the mate's emotions revolved around what the Veela would be feeling.

To have the perfect bond; a Veela would need a mate that it could connect with in every way; it made perfect sense to her. Had they not been in such a dangerous time, she would've been able to give in to it so much easier.

Draco sighed deeply and rolled his head from side to side, "Sorry I haven't been around much, I didn't intend to leave you here in the care of others"

Hermione continued to massage him, "I don't mind," it wasn't a complete lie.

She missed him like crazy when he wasn't around, she was experiencing feelings that she had never faced before, and it was like her heart was aching without him around.

"And to think" Draco laughed sarcastically, "If things were different I would be able to take you along with me to the meetings and maybe even some small missions"

Hermione felt a tug in her heart, there was nothing that she would love more then to be out running missions with Draco, if only it wasn't ones that were trying to kill her friends. Although, what harm would a little information do? She would be able to see Draco more often and he would be less stressed.

"I heard from Pansy what's going on" Hermione began hesitantly.

Draco shrugged her hands way, "It's nothing for you to be concerned about"

But it was.

She took in a deep breath, "Draco, we both know that this war is rapidly approaching the end, one side is going to win sooner or later. I think it's something that we all need to be concerned about"

He didn't respond.

"I want to give you a name of a man where you can get information" Draco spun his chair around to face his mate, he was completely stunned.

"Hermione?" He tugged her by the hips and pulled her onto his lap and began to nuzzle her neck, she loved the attention that he gave her when no one was around.

"I only ask that you tell me what you manage to find out" She leaned back and looked into his eyes, "I have a feeling that the Order are planning something big Draco, you couldn't have just expected that they would now come for me"

Draco fell silent; the prospect of Hermione being taken away from him was breaking his heart.

"I not going anywhere love" she caressed the side of Draco's faced.

Closing his eyes, he leaned into her hand and took a deep breath, "So you're ready to betray them?

Hermione frowned, "I'm not betraying per say, I'm giving a name to my partner and what he decides to do with that name is his choice alone"

Draco didn't press it any further; they both knew what this meant.

Later that night Hermione lay on their bed waiting for Draco to finish in the shower. She never questioned him about the places that he had to attend to late at night, knowing that his answer would probably give her nightmares.

She was almost ready to doze off when she felt a dip in the bed behind her, her Veela slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Do you ever think life would have been better with a different mate?" she questioned softly.

He was frowning, she knew that much.

"I can't imagine life with any other mate" he admitted, "I'll agree that we aren't the most obvious pairing but you overlook the finer details. We were both tops of our classes at school, I have almost the complete opposite personality to you but that just means you complete me"

Hermione relaxed a little, "I don't know the finer details Draco. I don't know your favorite color, or your favorite food, whether you listen to music. I know that you're a Death Eater that you're out to get my friends and those who I consider family. I know that you are exactly what I've learnt to hate over the past years and yet I love you. I barely know you Draco Malfoy, but I know that I would die for you"

Draco pressed his face into the back of her neck, "My favorite color is green, and not because of Slytherin, I don't have a favorite food, the only time I listen to music is when our family hosts a ball. I've had a different upbringing to you 'Mione. I never had time to worry about the finer things; I was always expected to be an adult when I was only a child"

Rolling over, she looked up at Draco, "I'm sorry for that" she whispered, "and maybe when all this is over, we can move countries and spend the rest of our life worrying about the little things"

Wishful thinking.

Draco lay awake after his mate fell asleep, thinking of the future. If Voldemort won, there was no way that they could just get up and leave. Then again, if the Order defeated him, there was no chance that he would be let off without punishment. No doubt Hermione would be taken from him, and he would most likely be thrown into Azkaban.

His stomach clenched at the thought, and he held her tighter. One day at a time, yes that was the only way that he could manage this.


	5. Chapter 5

Edited 24.1.15

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters, J.K Rowling is the lucky one that does!

Chapter 5

All of his life, the people that were close to him seemed to either get hurt or get killed. The list was never ending, beginning with his parents and now ending with Hermione.

The Boy Who Killed would be a more accurate title.

He not only felt guilty, but selfish. It was selfish of him to hold onto the people around him, trying to keep his sanity. Especially when the people he considered so dear to him always ended up in grave danger.

Hermione.

The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach simply refused to leave; instead it had been there ever since he found out that she had been taken by Pansy, none the less.

They had no news of what was happening to her, whether she was being tortured or not, he refused to think of some of the dirtier things that could be happening to her, that only made him want to hurl.

He could only thank God that Snape had pulled through with valuable information, his closest friend would only have to hold on a little longer before they could make it too her. Not only would they rescue her, but they would destroy everything, this war needed to end, and it needed to end soon.

...

Growing up, she had always been presented with fairy tales and surreal ideas that there was always a happily ever after. But as Hermione walked through the Manor many hours after Draco had left to talk to her contact, she knew that there would never be a happily ever after for herself.

How could she when she was stuck in the home of her enemies, people that her own friends wanted to defeat. This war would place her in a lose-lose situation, while she was still troubled about her and Draco's situation, she didn't want to lose him if Harry and the Order prevailed over Lord Voldemort. The other alternative ending to the war was something which made her sick to think about, she couldn't even picture life without the boys she had grown up with, without the Weasley's or any of the other Order members who had become like family to her.

The place was buzzing, Death Eaters and family members were rushing around everywhere. She didn't even have to ask to know what was going on.

The Order was going to attack the Manor, in hopes of 'saving' Hermione and depleting a chunk of the Death Eaters resources. As much as she wanted to be back with her friends, she didn't want to be saved, she didn't want them to risk themselves over getting her back.

_It's not just me they are trying to retrieve, they want to make sure I can't give up any information about the Order_.

Swallowing thickly, she spun on her heel and began to run back towards the bedroom. If this chaos begin with her, surely it could end with her or at least be delayed.

Draco had never returned her wand that had been taken from her when Pansy took her to the Manor, but she had always known where he had kept it.

In the top of the dresser, under his socks and in a small compartment. Hermione had known for some time the location of her wand, but she hadn't felt the overwhelming need to take it out to use it until now.

The opening to the compartment sprung up, reaching in, she took back what was rightfully hers. The ten and three quarter vine wood with dragon heartstring as the core had never felt so fitted to her own hands.

"You can do this" she whispered to herself.

Of course she couldn't just apparate from the Manor itself; there were many wards that ensure that any person except for Draco, Lucius or Narcissa would splinch themselves in the process.

The only way that she could apparate to her destination would be to reach the apparition point on the border of the Malfoy Manor grounds. Slipping her wand in the back of her jeans, she began the trip.

She had been staying in the area of the Manor where only family and close friends entered, the rest of the death eaters did not roam around in that part. To leave the Manor to get the furthest way out to the apparition point, she would have to pass through one of the main halls. If there was a back way out, she had yet to discover it.

A few people passed her in the hallways, but they were all too caught up in preparing themselves for an attack that they didn't notice a girl whizzing through, hood up and her face hidden. It wasn't until she had reached the double glass doors to the back of the Manor that someone pulled her up.

"Hermione" Her head snapped up, as she tried to hide the panic bubbling on the inside, "Where are you going? You know it's not safe for you out here"

Hermione smiled warmly as she could, "I'm just going to wait for Draco in the courtyard, and no one noticed me walking through. With everything that is going on, I'm just feeling a little uneasy"

Pansy gave her an unconvinced nod, but didn't protest as the other woman exited the doors.

She tried to contain her nerves and keep a normal pace as she walked across the Malfoys lawn, a wave of relief washed through Hermione as she neared the apparition point, she quickened her pace, intent on making it out without any more complications.

"Hermione!" stunned, she turned back to see Blaise now running across the small field, Pansy hot on his heels.

"No!" she cried out, breaking into a sprint she closed in on her first destination.

She whipped the wand out of her jeans and looked up at the nearing figures of Pansy and Blaise.

"I have to do this" She yelled to them even though she knew they wouldn't understand.

Closing her eyes tight, she pictured the place that she needed to go, and with a crack she was gone.

...

"Impossible" She opened one eye at a time, almost too scared to observe her new surroundings.

"It's got to be polyjuice potion" Blinking, she focused on the people surrounding her.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Tonks and other various members of the Order, all pointing their wands at her face.

"It's not" Hermione cried out, "it's really me"

Ron stalked forwards, his wand still raised, "Prove it"

"My name is Hermione Jane Granger, my parents are Todd and Monica Wilkins, I sent them too Australia after removing their memory to save their lives" Hermione recited the information, hoping that it would be enough for them.

Some of them eased up and began to lower their wands.

"How is this possible?" Harry whispered, looking in her eyes searchingly.

Tears sprung to her own, "I'm sorry it took me so long to come back, but I found my wand and ran to the apparition point, I almost got caught"

Harry flung forwards and pulled Hermione into a bear hug, it wasn't long before Ron and Ginny joined in.

"I can't believe this" Ron muttered, "You've been gone for so long and now you're back here!"

Hermione pulled back from them, "Guys" she raised an eyebrow, "It's only been a few weeks"

There was a sharp intake of breath throughout the room.

"What?" she asked, looking around at the stunned faces.

"Hermione" Tonks spoke up, "You've been gone for nearly three months"

Now that was impossible.

She didn't keep track of time while she was at the Manor, but there was no way that she could have been there that long. She would know if she was there for more than a month, there was no way that she would miss those signs.

Molly took her hand, "I think we had better sit down dear, there's a lot of explaining that needs to be done and not a lot of time"

Almost ten minutes later, Hermione was seated on a single sofa chair, facing the rest of friends. She found there stares to be increasingly intimidating.

"I don't know where to start" she mused to herself, trying to avoid any eye contact.

"What about from where Pansy took you" someone piped up from across the room.

"Oh yes" she shifted in her seat, "I know for a fact that what I have to say will come as a big shock to you all but I need everyone to listen and not to interrupt. Around the time that Pansy took me I was feeling uneasy, like each day was counting down to something and I just couldn't figure out what it was. There was in fact a countdown; it was the countdown to the day that Draco Malfoy would die"

There was a collective gasp through the room, and a snort from Ron.

"Funny 'Mione" Ron chuckled.

She gave him a dirty look and shook her head, "Draco Malfoy is a part Veela, a trait that has been carried through his family for many generations. As a part Veela, Draco needed to well, bond with his mate, which happens to be me. So I guess you could say that I'm Mrs. Draco Hermione Malfoy"

"You're married to a Death Eater!" Hermione shot a glare in Harry's direction.

"Hush" she growled, "The bond between a Veela and their mate is something that you will never understand" she cast an appreciative look at Fleur and Bill, both whom were looking at her with awe.

"I bonded with Draco, I had no wish for him to die of a broken heart, that, and I am drawn to him in a way that you couldn't imagine" Hermione admitted easily, "At first I absolutely resented that fate had bought him and I together, I didn't want to be his mate, and he knew this and it ate away at him. I always thought of you guys, I listened and collected any piece of information I could so that when I escaped I could give it to you"

The room was silent and filled with tension.

"And?" Harry prompted.

Hermione shrugged slightly, "Things changed Harry. It was a hard adjustment, my emotions were all over the place, they were infected by Draco and his Veela. I have come to love Draco Malfoy with all of my heart and that is why I am here. Don't attack the Malfoy Manor and when it comes to the final battle, I want to keep Draco's family, Pansy and Blaise safe"

Each person in the room stared at her bewildered.

"It doesn't work like that Miss Granger" Hermione shot out of the chair, narrowing her eyes at Lupin, "This is a war, out on the battlefield they would all gladly kill us. We need to get to he who must not be named. We will have to continue with our plans"

"Why?" she demanded, "I can't go back to the Malfoy Manor and tell all of those men, woman and other children that they are prepared to go to battle for a lost cause! Especially when _He_ is barely there!"

Ron strode across the room and took hold of her arm, "We can't let you go back there 'Mione, we only just got you back, it's too dangerous. I can't lose you again, things can change, you don't have to be with Malfoy, and we can sort something out!"

She could've wacked herself over the head. During her time at the Manor she had forgotten all about Ron's affections for her. He liked her, a lot, and now that was something which she could never return.

Hermione shook her head, "There is nothing to sort out Ronald"

She shook her arm free and took a few steps back, "I was hoping that you all would understand, I wasn't asking you to give up on this war, I just wanted those I love to be safe" Hermione shifted her gaze between her friends.

"There's more at stake than people's affections" Tonks interjected.

"It's just affections Tonks" Hermione gripped onto her knees, "If there is one thing I have learnt it is that not everything is black and white. While I can't bear any more of the Order being hurt or killed, I also can't bear my _other_ family being targeted. We can't let _him_ destroy what is left of our humanity"

Hermione turned to her closest friend, "Harry, please, we all know that you will kill him, but I can't have Draco and the others prosecuted when it comes time to lock up the Death Eaters or hurt beforehand" Hermione looked at him pleadingly, willing him to understand.

Harry shook his head, "They will all pay for their crimes Hermione, I'm sorry, it's not up to me, and it's just something that needs to happen"

She took a few steps back, shaking her head at her supposed best friend, "No, no it's not, and I won't let you touch them, I won't let you anywhere near Draco" she hissed.

Harry took a cautious step forwards, extending his arms towards her, "Mione, I can understand that you must be upset, but you don't have to go back there, you can stay with us and I swear on my life that we will keep you safe from them"

"Don't" Bill's voice sounded sharply, "I know what it's like for her, don't step in her way. A Veela's bond runs deep. Even though she never would have before, she would do anything for him"

Hermione pulled out her wand and raised it into the air, "Bill's right Harry" she took another step back, "And if you think that for one second that you can hurt Draco your wrong. I may not support _He who must not be named, _I support Draco."

Harry leaped forwards but before he could reach Hermione, she had waved her wand in the center of the room causing sparks of light burst everywhere, blinding everyone.

Hermione took this opportunity to apparate back to the Manor grounds and back to her Veela.

She landed close to where she left, instead of walking back to the Manor where she could feel her Veela, she staggered over to the closest tree and collapsed in a fit of tears.

This wasn't her. She was stronger than this. She was Hermione Granger and Hermione Granger could always work out the problem and find a solution.

The rationality in her told her that there was no way the Order would have ever agreed to what she said. Even if they considered her new family in the grey area, they were still death eaters, still fighting against the Order and Harry.

Sniffling, Hermione rubbed at her face with her hands. This whole mess really felt like a bad dream.

"Hermione" Narcissa Malfoy called out softly.

Lifting herself from the ground, she ran over to her mother-in-law. Hermione flung her arms around her, burying her head into her shoulder, her body shuddering as she sobbed.

"I wanted to protect you" she whispered hoarsely, "I wanted to protect you, Lucius, Blaise, Pansy and Draco but they wouldn't"

Narcissa stroked her hair, "I know my dear"

Narcissa stood their patiently, waiting for Hermione to calm down, "Is Draco mad?" she sniffed.

Holding her at an arm's length arm, Narcissa smirked, "You know my son, he hasn't left your room since he heard that you… well since you escaped, I knew you would be back, but my son is stubborn and won't listen"

"I better go and see him" She bit her lip guiltily.

Narcissa rubbed the top of her arm, "You probably should, and dear, don't worry too much for when the war finishes, everything always works out the way it needs to"

...

Maybe there should have been a fairytale written where the Princess loses everything she has, and always manages to hurt her Prince. That way little girls would know what reality is, and never have the need to get their expectations up.

Yes, that kind of fairytale would be more relevant to Hermione.

Hesitantly, she pushed the door open to their room.

"Draco?" she called out softly.

Panic began to rise inside of her; Draco wasn't in the room like Narcissa said. Maybe this time she had really done it.

Her legs struggled as she moved towards the adjoining bathroom door, with a small push, the door burst wide open.

"Draco" she whispered again.

He didn't move in recognition of her voice, instead she looked on him in the large tub, something which resembled a small pool, laying in the warm water in his button up shirt and slacks.

Silently, Hermione removed her clothing. Without showering before she had seen him, he would definitely recognize the scents on her. She climbed into the water and waded over to Draco. He watched as she began on removing his own clothing.

"I knew you wouldn't let me go if I had asked you" she explained quietly.

Draco didn't respond, but instead he raised his fingers to her red-rimmed eyes, gently brushing away the fresh tears.

"I won't fight for them when it comes to it Draco, I'll fight to protect you, and if they won't help me do it, then I will do it by myself" Hermione concluded, flinging the last of his clothing over the edge.

He pulled her close, and gripped onto her tightly, "I was so scared you wouldn't come back"

"It's just you and me Draco" Hermione began to cry again.

Holding her protectively, Draco began to rock her back and forth comforting his mate. There were still things that Hermione was yet to find out about their bonding and his family and friends. In time he would tell her, but for now he would wait for her as she battled out her inner struggle of right and wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

Edited 24-1-15

_Disclaimer: J. K Rowling owns Harry Potter, the original plotline and main characters._

Chapter 6

The days after Hermione's return to the Malfoy Manor went by agonizingly slow. Although no one would care to admit it to her, she was no longer completely trusted. Every time she had left her room, someone was always there to watch her, mostly it was Pansy.

The whole house was on edge, it was expected that the Order would attack days ago, but nothing had happened yet.

Hermione sat on the windowsill in the library looking out at the outskirts of the Manor through the light rain. In some ways she could not believe that she had been here for so long. Her stay had only felt like a few weeks, she was sure of it. How could she have lost track of time like that?

"Any news yet?" she asked Pansy who was reading on a sofa across from her. It would be a very strange sight if anyone had stumbled across the pair, usually it was Hermione who was buried deep in a book and Pansy off in her own world.

Pansy placed a marker in the book and placed it beside her, "Blaise said that they have people on the outskirts of the Manor, it's as if they are scouting the place out, he doesn't really know much of what is going on… That or he just isn't telling me"

Hermione turned her gaze away from the window momentarily, "If there are people scouting, how come they haven't been caught?" she questioned bitterly.

The other girl shrugged, "It seems that they are quick and stealthy, Draco has gone out a few times and has been unable to find any of them"

The mention of her beloved made her heart clench, Order members would not hesitate to attack Draco.

What were they playing at; had they tried to trick Hermione by making her think that they would attack the house soon?

"This doesn't make sense" Hermione sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration.

"We're at war, nothing makes sense" Pansy rolled her eyes and opened her book.

Hermione stood from her seat and began to pace, trying to walk out the cramps in her legs, she felt so highly strung, if only she could just settle down long enough to read a book herself.

"Where are you going?" Pansy jumped out of her seat as Hermione made her way to the library doors.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'm going to find Draco"

It was obvious that Pansy was hesitant to let her out of her sight, but she sat back down on the couch, showing her trust in Hermione, "Okay, just be careful. We never know when something might happen"

It was late in the afternoon and she really had no idea where Draco was, but she was sure that if she wandered around enough and waited he would show up.

She slowly crossed the house and opened the doors that led to one of the sitting areas outside, although it was raining, the area was still partially covered. It was cold outside but it was the least of her worries.

"Is everything alright?" Her Veela's deep voice behind her gave her a small shock, and her heart skipped a beat.

He chuckled and moved closer to her as she turned around to face him, "I just want this to be over" she admitted sheepishly, allowing him to pull her into a tight embrace.

"Me too" he whispered into her hair.

"They are planning something" Hermione rested her head against his chest, breathing in his scent, "There is no way that my visit there would have stopped them from carrying out any plans. Just the way they were talking, it seemed as if they were expecting the war to be over soon"

Draco stayed silent, he didn't want to press her for information on the Order's plans, and it would kill his mate to give up her friends, no matter how much she wanted to protect him.

Hermione tightened her grip on him, "No matter what happens Draco, I won't let anyone hurt you"

He smiled into her hair and swayed her side to side in his arms, "I am the one that will be protecting you, my beautiful mate"

Draco dipped his head down and pressed his lips against Hermione's, pulling back he leaned his head against hers.

"What is going on Draco? Pansy told me that the Manor is being watched"

He sighed and squeezed her arm, "It is but that's not the main concern anymore. The order have taken over Hogwarts and are beginning to fortify it, they are also still sending people out here. The Dark Lord is beginning to be impatient and he is starting to plan how to weed Potter out"

Hermione felt like throwing up at the new information, "How?" she asked.

"I don't know, he doesn't always let people in on his plans until he wants to put them into action, as you can imagine he isn't one for trust" Draco smiled at her grimly.

So the war would be over soon. Only one would live while the rest would fight for dominance.

Please be Harry.

She felt guilty that she still wanted her best friend to win, as if it was betraying Draco, but they would all be better off in the future if Harry lived.

"I'm a muggleborn" Hermione began, "A mudblood"

Draco recoiled at the harsh word, as if she was insulting him.

"If the 'Dark Lord' wins, there will be no way that he will let me live for long, right?" Hermione's voice was so soft; if Draco didn't have exceptional hearing he might have missed it.

"I-" He began but Hermione was quick to cut him off.

"We both know that something is up with him accepting that I'm your mate so easily. I know your parents and friends aren't overly bothered by it. But him… Aren't you concerned?"

"Of course I am" Draco hissed, "But if we were to turn against him would be dead in an instant, there is no way that we could outrun him"

His body was completely tense against her, in a way she regretted saying anything to him.

"I'm sorry" she apologized, rubbing his arm.

Draco didn't respond, he clenched his jaw looking out past her at the rain.

"We can do something about this Draco" Hermione's glanced around the surrounding area, "The Order will show leniency if we can help them"

His body was still tense. Hopefully he didn't think that on top of leaving, she was trying to undermine his decisions as a mate to her.

She reached up on her tip toes and placed her lips softly against his, she pressed against him more, waiting for him to respond. It didn't take Draco long to relax against her, his arms moved down her sides, pulling her up against him.

His mouth began to move more frantically against hers, sucking and nipping at her bottom lip. It wasn't until a few moments later he stopped allowing her to catch her breath.

Silently, she took his hand in her own and led him back through the house towards their bedroom, planning to spend the rest of their afternoon with him, making them both forget about their current situation.

…

Draco was gone by time Hermione had managed to drag herself out of bed, she could vaguely remember him planting kisses all over her face and telling her how much he loved her.

Hermione wasted no time in getting up and getting ready for the day, there was information to find out and plots to begin creating.

Pansy was down at the dining table already when Hermione had arrived, muttering away to herself. Hermione chuckled softly, seating herself across from her now close friend.

"Where's Blaise?" Hermione asked, buttering herself some toast.

Pansy tensed at the mention of their friends name, "Out" she sighed, "He rushed off this morning, no one will tell me what is happening but I don't think it's good"

They continued eating their breakfast in silence, both lost in thoughts about the upcoming climax to the horrid war. Hermione often wondered about Pansy's loyalty to the side she was on. Sure they had become rather close during her time here, but their opinions on the current situation they were both stuck in was something they seldom discussed. She knew that it could be dangerous giving opinions to others, especially when there were death eaters around all the time to listen in.

It was the same with Draco, his position in the war confused her more now than ever. She had always thought that he was dedicated to Voldemort's cause, bringing around the revolution in favor of the 'superior' but certain things he had been saying to her lately got her thinking. He had admitted his concern to her, and made it clear that turning away from Voldemort would only result in death.

She loved Draco, more than anything and for reasons that she could not even explain, every time she tried to think about life without him it made her physically sick and extremely anxious. One morning she had been caught up with her own thoughts and panic that he actually woke, worried that something was wrong with her. The Veela bond between them was stronger than she could ever imagine.

Nothing could take him away from her, her Veela didn't just need her to live, but she now needed him.

Pansy's scowling and muttering tore her away from her thoughts, bringing her back to reality.

"What's wrong with you?" Hermione raised an eyebrow in mock annoyance.

Pansy huffed, "What's not wrong with me! Everyone's running around like lunatics' and not telling me anything, Narcissa has been hiding away somewhere and I can't find her, I've barely seen Blaise or Draco and on top of all of that I have the worse cramps imaginable, talk about an inconvenient time!"

Lunatics…

Narcissa…

Hiding…

Blaise…

Draco…

Hermione's mind tried to work its way through Pansy's rant.

Cramps…

Eyes widening, she dropped her knife and it violently clattered against her plate causing Pansy to jump.

"Are you okay?" the other girl asked in panic at her frozen state.

"Pansy" she gasped, "Cramps, I haven't… In a few months… Oh god!"

It couldn't be, not in a time like this, this wasn't how it was supposed to be.

Hermione raised her hand to her mouth, feeling all of the contents of her stomach starting to rise. She bolted from her chair to the nearest balcony and threw up everything she had eaten.

Pansy was over by her side in a flash, holding her hair and rubbing her back, "It's okay, just get it all out" she whispered.

Hermione coughed a few times, tears running down her face in disgust at what she just did.

Pansy wrapped an arm around her waist and led her back to her seat, sitting her down; she reached over and poured some water giving it to Hermione.

"So you're… you know?" Pansy whispered watching on as Hermione took a few sips.

"I don't really know" Hermione admitted, "I've been thinking about in on and off for a while, I'm really stressed lately, that's all it could be"

Pansy scoffed at the weak explanation, "Yeah, I'm sure that's all it is. Don't be stupid! Draco is a Veela, we both know that he's more, ugh, virile then other people"

Hermione chuckled lightly, still feeling sick at her conclusion, "I know, but we are in the middle of the war, I just can't be"

"You must take a test" Pansy insisted, "That way you can be sure, we will need to keep you away from any danger"

The brunette shook her head, "I'm too scared too" Hermione hissed.

She didn't need a test to know the answer. She mated with a Veela, of course this would happen, Veela's and their mates are extremely fertile, and she was stupid enough for not considering this earlier. The only thing that she didn't know for certain was how far along she could be, she had been at Malfoy Manor for just over three months, and there was a strong possibility that she could have conceived their very first time.

Voices down the hall caused both girls to stand in panic.

"Pansy" Hermione whispered, "No one must know, not Blaise, not Narcissa, and especially not Draco. It's not safe for people to find out just yet, this must stay between you and me. This changes things"

Pansy looked hesitant, clearly uncomfortable at the thought of hiding something so important from the people that they both cared for.

"I- okay, for now" Hermione squeezed her hand in appreciation.

Moments later the door to the dining room burst open, causing them both to jump in surprise. Draco marched through the doors, a look of panic on his face. Upon seeing Hermione with Pansy, he rushed over, squeezing both of them into a hug.

"Draco" Pansy gasped out, "What is the matter with you?"

He pulled back suddenly, "Hogwarts has been taken by the Order, and" he gritted his teeth, "and mother is missing!"


	7. Chapter 7

Edited: 25.1.15

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns all of the main characters and the plot, we lucky people just get to twist it to our satisfaction!

Chapter 7

They had all searched the house frantically for Narcissa, but Draco had been right, she was missing and no one had an idea where she could be. Hermione was beginning to panic; the events of the day were starting to weigh down on her.

How was it possible that so many extreme things could happen in one day?

No, she thought momentarily, no matter what, this is a blessing, nothing bad.

When things weren't so stressful she would tell Draco, she couldn't have him going into a fight distracted or spend his time worrying about her even more than he was now. There would never be a right time to tell him, no matter the outcome of the war, but for him she would make time.

"Anything?" Pansy asked her out of breath, Draco appearing behind her.

Hermione shook her head somberly, "Nothing, I'm so sorry" she paused for a moment, suddenly realizing that Narcissa wasn't the only person who she couldn't seem to find, "Draco, where is Lucius?"

Draco's eyes widened in alarm, "I'm… I'm not too sure" he admitted, "I think he may have left for Hogwarts already"

"Is there any chance that is where your mother went to?" Hermione questioned.

Draco shook his head, "She left before we found out".

Pansy whirled around and gripped his arm tightly, "Blaise?"

"It's okay Pans" Draco reassured he, "He rushed off to Hogwarts as soon as he was summoned"

"Summoned?" Pansy screeched, "It's not okay that he's there"

Draco shrugged uneasily, "He doesn't have a choice, and I don't either, I have no choice but to go there soon"

Hermione felt her body go cold, "You have to go?"

She flung herself at him, she didn't want to be selfish, or needy, but the thought of him going to fight her friends made her feel faint.

He held her tightly in his arms, pressing his cheek to the top of her head, "We all knew this was coming, I love you but I have to go now Hermione"

She gulped in a breath, clutching to him tightly.

"You can't just expect me to sit back and do nothing" Hermione said, trying to keep her panic and anger in check.

"Don't be such a dolt Granger" Hermione raised her eyebrows at the use of her last name, "I can't go out there if I know you could be in danger"

"Fine Malfoy" she hissed in return.

"Please don't do anything stupid" Draco begged her, "Just, just stay safe"

Hermione bit back any remarks, she squeezed him once more and took a step back, not bothering to hide her fresh tears. Pansy stood by her side, grasping onto her hand.

"Take care of each other. Stay safe. Don't leave the Manor until someone comes and gets you, I've already warded it so that no one else will be able to get in. I love you both" He gave them a weak smile before apparating away.

...

"We have to go!" Hermione was pacing again, something which she seemed to always do these days.

"It's too dangerous" Pansy cried out, attempting to reason, 'You heard what Draco said, I don't like it as much as you, but we shouldn't, it's too dangerous for you to be out there!?

"It doesn't matter Pansy. Narcissa is missing, Draco and Blaise are probably going to die and so are my friends. I can't just sit back here and wait, we have to you, and you need to apparate us" Hermione begged.

Pansy shook her head feverently, "Draco would never forgive me, nor would Blaise"

Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed, "If Draco and Blaise die they won't be here to forgive you"

"How can I let you out there knowing the condition you're in, all it would take is one bad hex for everything to go wrong?" Pansy snapped at her, "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself or look at Draco the same if I knew I was the reason why something bad happened"

Hermione reached out and grabbed her hands, "Pansy" she whispered, "Please… just please"

The raven hair girl refused to make eye contact with her, afraid that she would give in to her distraught friend.

Dropping her hands, Hermione turned on her heel and walked towards the hall.

"Where are you going?" Pansy called out to her.

"I'm going to lay down, if that is alright with you" Pansy recoiled at the tone of her voice, and sat down on the closest chair.

Hermione continued her way down the hall, trying to keep a steady pass. Her heart was beating quickly and she felt as if her stomach would heave up its remaining contents.

Once she reached hers and Draco's room, she locked the door and began pace and attempt to sort out her thoughts.

"Only one will survive" she muttered.

The prophecy.

Harry couldn't die, he just couldn't. If this was to be the final battle, then either he or Voldemort would have to die. How had this come about so quickly? It only felt as if it were yesterday that Pansy had taken her to Malfoy Manor.

She wasn't prepared.

For once in her life Hermione Granger was in a situation that she hadn't been about to plan for, research or use her incredible logic to work out a solution.

"My Veela is about to fight against my friends" she spoke softly to herself again.

Technically she wasn't on any side, but maybe everyone else didn't see it like that. She didn't want Harry, Ron and anyone in the Order to go anywhere near Draco or his family.

"Narcissa" she gasped covering her mouth.

Her mother-in-law was missing, how she could forget what Draco had mentioned. Maybe that was why he was in such a hurry to leave, try and find her before chaos broke out.

Everything was a mess, not at all how she thought it would be.

Hermione raced over to her closet and hastily pulled on a pair of jeans, a sweater and some lace up shoes.

If she went would the Order attack her?

For all they knew, she gave out information to the Death Eaters.

Taking in a deep breath, she placed a hand on her still flat stomach and apparated.

...

Harry Potter tightened his grip on his wand, and used his free hand to wipe a thin layer of sweat from his forehead. Hogwarts was a mess, everyone around him was a mess, and this definitely wasn't how he wanted things to end.

He never wanted his friends to get hurt for him, or people that he didn't even know.

The horcruxes were destroyed, all except for Nagini, but that seemed as if it were a minor obstacle compared to what was to come after.

"Reducto" he roared out, running from behind one pillar to another.

He needed to find Ron. He had already lost one of his best friends, he wouldn't be able to survive if he lost another.

To his right in a broken corridor he saw a flash of blonde hair.

Malfoy!

He took after the young Death Eater without a second thought. It was his fault that they had lost Hermione. It was his fault that she wanted to choose him over her best friends. The ones that she had grown up with, the ones that comforted her all of the times that the ferret had been cruel to her.

"Malfoy" He screamed out to the blonde in front of him.

Draco faulted in his step, his eyes widening in surprise as he took in the image his lover's closest friend covered in grime and looking like hell.

"Where is she?" He grounded out, approaching Draco, wand at the ready.

"In a place that you can't get to her" The Veela growled at the other male.

Harry's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward, "I said, where is she Malfoy? I want you to give her back!"

Draco rolled his eyes, "She's not a possession you idiot"

Harry made an obvious move to jinx him, but the other boy was quicker. Before he could do anything Draco had shot an unfamiliar spell out, causing the air around him to fill with dust.

"You have better things to do than to argue with me Potter"

Harry coughed and stumbled backwards, Malfoy was right, he needed to focus, he would find Hermione as soon as he completed his destiny. It was time for the fall of Voldemort and his followers.

...

"Stupefy… Reducto… Expelliarmus"

Never before had he wished he paid more attention when he was at school. While he had learnt quite a bit and could definitely hold his own thanks to the D.A club, he had never been as gifted with his wand as Hermione.

His Hermione.

His stomach clenched every time he thought of their last encounter. He loved her more than anything, he always had even though he never managed to tell her. Now she was with the person that he despised the most. The ferret.

It was hard to stay focused on the battle, and on his hunt to find Harry when all he could think about was his other best friend.

Would she be out there fighting against their side? Would she attack him if she saw him? Surely not.

Only Merlin knew know. There was no telling what had happened to her while she had been staying with Death Eaters. Hermione had claimed that she was gone for a mere few weeks. Months, it had been long grueling months where he agonized every day wondering if she was alive and well.

They were all ready to give up hope, him, Harry, Ginny and the rest of the Order. Months without hearing any word and then she suddenly appears… but in love with Draco Malfoy of all people.

"Ron!" his reverie was interrupted but the one person he hope to find in this chaos.

"Harry!" he cried out, "Thank merlin! Have you seen the sword or the snake?"

There was work to be done.

...

Draco Malfoy had still to enter the battle yet, instead he watched on with the Dark Lord and some of their followers as the other Death Eaters charged onto Hogwarts.

That was his classmates they would be attacking, his teachers, people he had been surrounded by these past few years.

To the left of him stood his father. The great Lucius Malfoy, who once stood so tall and always appeared so regal was now a shadow. There were great bags under his eyes, his face and hair were dirty and he looked quite distressed.

His mother was still missing, they had yet been able to find her. Draco had an inkling that his father knew her whereabouts.

The barrier to Hogwarts had shattered no less than fifteen minutes ago. A lot could happen in that time.

Soon he would have to enter, if he wasn't but the Dark Lords side he would be dead, and so would his mate.

Closing his eyes, he tried to reach out and sense her but it was near impossible at this point, all emotions were so high strung that he couldn't differentiate hers from his own.

If she listened to him they would be safe.

...

Pansy tried her hardest to keep herself together. After Hermione stormed out of the dining room she had taken a moment to usher her tears and pull herself together. There were only a few people that would be at Hogwarts that she cared about immensely, and it was making her sick with worry not knowing if they were alright.

It was hard to stop her thoughts from drifting to Blaise, the man that she considered to be her closest friend. He didn't come to the Manor with Draco, and she had been so stunned at the turn of events she hadn't asked their blonde friend about his whereabouts.

She had attempted to an extent to keep to her normal daily schedule, have a cup of tea, shower and change, and then run her errands around the Manor.

Even though she tried to keep her cool, she failed miserably. A hot shower woke her up, and the panic began to set in even more so then before. She had made haste to get changed and walk to Hermione's bedroom.

"Hermione?" she tapped on the door gently, "I'm sorry about before, this is hurting me as much as it is you, please just let me in"

No response.

She tapped on the door again a little harder before trying the door knob.

Still nothing.

A loud crack sounded through the air causing her to jump.

"Ditti is so very sorry Miss"

"Sorry for what?" Pansy asked the elf sharply.

It began to fidget with the hem of its dress, trying to avoid her eyes.

"Miss Hermione left before I could stop her"

The blood rushed from her face so quickly she felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on her.

Hermione had left.

"That idiot" Pansy swore.

Why couldn't the girl leave things alone? Of course she had to go off to battle alone, and pregnant. There was no way that Pansy could not go and find her. She had too. Even if it meant she would have to enter the battle unprepared. Blaise had practiced dueling skills with her before and while she could hold her own, she didn't want to have to fight.

"So much for keeping out of it" Pansy ground out.

Returning her attention back to the elf, she ordered it to apparate her into Hogwarts, right into the battlefield. It was up to her to find Hermione or Merlin save her from Draco's wrath.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone!**

**I am still very much alive. Thank you to everyone who has kept reviewing and is keeping up with the story! Unfortunately I've had so much on lately, between going to uni and work, I'm having 7 day weeks with very little free time. I finally caved into guilt and finished the next chapter, which is something I slogged through. I'm starting the next chapter now, which hopefully (!) won't be too far of being posted. I'm sitting final exams next week and going to Europe the week after so it just depends on how much I procrastinate :)**

**So thank you again, and enjoy! Hopefully it's not too intense for a 2000 word chapter**

**Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter and it's main characters, I'm just here to have fun with different storylines.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

As soon as her feet hit the ground, Hermione knew that she wasn't going to find anything pleasent at Hogwarts. She could see parts of the castle destroyed, and other parts lighting up from the numerous spells that were being shot out by the multiple wands in battle. Occasionally she would see a green flash, and her stomach would twist in knots.

The battle was well underway.

Even though she loved Draco more than anything, she was hoping with everything that she had that his side would not win this war. She had known Ron and Harry for many years now, they wouldn't let their friends live in a world with this madman.

Shakily, she began to walk through the corridors that were closest to her.

Had all the horcruxes been destroyed? It made her even more uneasy that she didn't know what had been going on in the order lately.

Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on Draco, maybe their Veela connection could help her to find him. She could faintly hear spells being called out. Would he be close to the fight or would be elsewhere?

She had an inkling that he would be more tactical rather than running in head first. That was more Harry and Ron's style.

Hermione was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice a spell flying towards her until it was too late. She cried out as her body was flung through the air and slammed into a stone wall, her head cracking painfully against it.

She didn't recognize the caster, or whose side they were fighting on, but before they could shoot another spell at her, she quickly stunned them and threw a binding hex.

It took some effort to push herself off of the uneven ground, after a few attempts she managed to stand without stumbling too much. Hermione gently rub her non-existent baby bump, how could she have been so stupid? Hopefully her body had taken all of the impact and her baby was okay.

Taking a few steps forward, she tested her balance. Her head was throbbing, and her shoulder had been sliced on some jaggered stone and was now bleeding. She chose not to look at it, there was no time to worry about minor injuries.

There was a war to be had.

…

She was here.

That bint!

He had asked her to stay away in a selfish attempt to not have to spend his time on the battlefield worried about her. It was a curse in one way how much he cared about her, he was too easily distracted in her presence, especially when he was worrying for her safety.

Panic set in, and his thoughts were consumed with that of his mate. Draco had begun running in her vague direction before he even realized.

"Malfoy!" A harsh cry stopped him in his tracks, how could his luck go anymore downhill?

"Potter" He answered calmly, watching as his mate's best friend held a wand to his face, "Hermione's here" he blurted out.

Harry raised his eyebrows in shock, "And? Did you convince her to fight as a Death Eater" he spat.

Draco barked out a laugh, "You idiot. You'll never understand, when it comes to her I would never be so foolish, she's not here to fight, she _can't _fight, I'm not here to fight you or anyone from the Order. Believe me this once when I say I have your back Potter. We all know Voldemort won't win, I'm just here to protect what's mine"

"It's funny that you say that" Harry ground out, "But I don't believe you, not one bit"

The ground shook slightly, indicating that a wall somewhere near had been blasted down. Screams soon followed.

"Have you seen my mother?" Draco asked the wonder boy with urgency.

Harry looked at him confused, "She's been here the whole time. Actually, she saved my life"

Draco never thought that he would feel as shocked as he did now. His mother had been missing, and while he was floundering around, she was in the middle of the war, no doubt following his father.

"I need to find her, I need to find Hermione and keep her safe, and you have to find _Him" _Draco tightened the grip on his wand.

Harry lowered his slightly, "For once I agree with you"

Without a second glance at each other, they ran off in separate directions. They grew up on opposite sides of the war, in completely different cultures. While Draco knew that if he survived this and if he and his friends could ever receive penance, it was unlikely that Harry Potter forgive him for taking Hermione away.

He continued to run, letting the Veela within take him to Hermione, although, he was so distracted by his thoughts of her that he didn't see the flash of vivid red hair just a few corridors from him.

…

There were more dead bodies than she had expected. How she had come to imagine that war would be a much more… clean event, she had no idea. Hermione had already vomited a few times, the sight of the mangled bodies being too much for her to handle.

As horrible as everything was for her right now, she was just thankful that she hadn't seen the body of Narcissa lying in an abandoned corridor, however, she did see Bellatrix's stone cold body lying frozen in death earlier and she felt nothing but relief.

There weren't as many people fighting in the areas that she had been running through, which shocked her immensely, but as she got closer to the Great Hall she understand why.

Harry was fighting Voldemort.

The decider of how they would spend the rest of their lives was happening right now. Her feet glued themselves to the ground as she watched her oldest, closest friend battle it out with their enemy.

Across the room Ginny's terrified eyes caught her own.

Around her battling between the Death Eaters and Order members was still going on, she searched frantically through the room. Draco wasn't anywhere in sight, but Blaise was. Her newest friend was dueling another Death Eater.

How could this be?

A sudden movement to her left caught her eye and it was if everything began to move in slow motion.

It was obvious that Voldemort was losing against Harry and it looked as if this Death Eater was going to interfere.

Her wand hand moved to its own accord and she shot out a stunning spell before they could raise their wand against Harry.

"Expelliamus!"

If anyone had asked her over a year ago how the end of Voldemort would come about, Hermione would've been speechless. How could she fathom what spell could be used against the once man who had torn pieces of his soul away to be made into horcruxes.

She gasped as the body of their enemy hit the floor and began to disintegrate.

A simply disarming spell.

The area surrounding her was a mess, from the corner of her eye she could see Harry staring at her, but she was too distracted trying to find Narcissa or Draco.

"Hermione!" Her heart swelled at the familiar voice of her love.

"Draco!" She choked out a sob.

He began to run towards her, and she picked up her pace.

To the side within another corridor she caught a glimpse of Ron walking forwards, his wand raised at Draco.

She was so close.

Turning her gaze to her childhood best friend, she saw his lips forming a horrible curse that she had only known to be used once before.

_Sectumsempra_

"Ron, no!" she screamed out.

Draco stopped in shock looking between her and Ron.

The spell shot from his wand in a bright flash, Hermione reacted with her own spell, casting a protego. The room seemed to freeze as the two spells clashed together. Ron's spell reflected against Hermione's shield, instead of flying back from the direction which it came, it flung to a corner of the room.

Hermione felt as if all her nightmares were coming true. She watched as the spell flung right towards one of her closest friends.

"Ginny!" but it was too late, Ron's deflected spell hit Ginny full force.

She continued running as fast as she could to her fallen friend, from the corner of her eye she could see Pansy and Blaise in the room, running towards her crying out. Various members from the Order, including Harry and Ron. Draco trailed behind her.

Hermione let out a scream as she was knocked from behind, her body slamming into the ground. Twisting her neck around, she saw Ron on the ground near her, Draco on the stone tiles next to him.

"Hermione" Draco called out.

"I'm fine" she answered, slightly winded.

Her body was aching, she was far from fine. Hermione's heart was beating quickly in fear for her baby.

"Ginny" Hermione gasped out.

Ron has his wand pointed at Draco, seeming to ignore the chaos surrounding his sister, "Don't move Malfoy"

Draco stood, holding his hands out, "Weasley, I'm the only that Snape taught the counter curse to"

Hermione struggled to stand up, she knew Draco was watching her with hawk eyes, with his power he could put Ron down in a matter of seconds, but she also knew he didn't want to make the situation worse for her sake.

"Harry" Hermione called our hoarsely.

Harry Potter turned away from his girlfriend frantically.

"Draco can fix it" She all but pleaded.

Harry's head whipped back and forth, nodding to himself he reached Ron in a few strides and pushed him away from Draco.

"Harry are you mad?" Ron cried out.

"Snape used the counter curse on Malfoy when I hit him with the spell" Harry glared at his friend, "Hurry Malfoy, if Ginny dies it's on your head"

Draco raced forwards, grabbing onto Hermione's he moved to Ginny's side.

"You're hurt, badly" he muttered.

Hermione squeezed his hand, "Save Ginny" she whispered.

The amount of blood seeping through Ginny's clothes made her feel sick. She watched on as Draco slowly moved his wand over her body, muttering unfamiliar words. Everyone was silent as the curse literally reversed and Ginny's blood began to move back to where it came from.

"It is done" Draco stood, after what felt like an agonizing amount of time, "She will need immediate medical care, it would be best to keep her sedated until she can fully heal"

"Thank you dear" Molly let out a small sob, clutching onto her daughters hand.

Hermione tried to ignore the pang in her stomach.

"Hermione" Pansy called to her softly, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" She breathed out shakily, tears began to fall down her face.

"Did you get hit by a spell?" Harry asked suddenly.

Hermione shook her head.

Draco turned to face her, she could see tears trailing down his face as well, and in that instant she realized how stupid of her it was to think he didn't know.

"But Hermione" Harry said somewhat hesitantly, "There's blood, all over your jeans"

Hermione shook her, avoiding the eyes of all her were staring at her.

"I don't understand" Blaise piped up.

Over the roaring in her ears, she could hear Pansy gasp.

"She's having a miscarriage" Draco choked out.

Her knees gave out from underneath hear, her body trying to deny the truth. Draco caught her and the fell to the ground together. He rocked her silently as she clung on to him and cried like she had never before.

She had killed her baby before it had a real chance at life. What kind of monster was she?

Everyone around her was talking, some raising voices over others but she couldn't make sense over anything.

Draco's hot tears fell onto her face, her heart was breaking with guilt at what she was putting her Veela through.

She was only vaguely aware of herself repeating the mantra of 'I'm so sorry' over and over again, but it changed nothing.

Voldemort was dead.

The war was over.

Ginny was alive.

Her friends probably still hated her.

Above all, their baby was dead.

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><p><strong>I really don't know if anyone saw that coming... But if you remember in the prologue, Hermione is pretty much getting wasted in a bar, ergo no baby. I've have this chapter, planned of sorts, for ages now, a little Grey's Anatomy inspired. The baby's gone! I've always been one to like the stories where people weren't afraid to kill of main characters, so who knows what's next... well I do :)<strong>

**No sight of Narcissa yet, but expect her in awhile! Also, thank you thank you thank you for waiting for this chapter, and to everyone whose just read it all in one go, hope you liked it!**

**Thoughts? :)**

**Until next time,  
>bowties.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**I pretty much just wrote all of my A/N and being the genius I am I exited the page without saving... Take two!**

**I've been back from Europe for a few weeks and back at uni and work, so as most of you know what that's like it's hectic. I've been trying to  
>get myself to finish chapter 10 for awhile now, yes that's right, chapter 10. Being the genius that I am, as I said before, I completely forgot that<br>I hadn't edited this chapter and posted it, so here you are!**

**Thank you to all of the reviewers who have been onto me about updating, sorry to keep you waiting! I hope you love the chapter :)**

**Another thank you to Lia-et-Eli who has translated this fic into French!**

**On a side note to Mellasphian, it's so interesting that J.K would have considered a Dramione canon, everyone seems to have such different opinions.  
>I remember reading in an interview of hers from years ago that she was worried at how big the Draco following was, and how she saw him to be more evil, who knows, us dramione shippers may have changed her mind :P<strong>

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter, that honor goes to J.K Rowling**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

It had been eleven days since all Hell broke loose. Hermione was sure that one day she would look back in disgust at how long she kept herself shut away from reality for, but right now she couldn't care less.

Over the past week, she and Draco had barely spoken. She just felt so guilty for what happened, it was her choice to Hogwarts, and it was her decisions and carelessness that ruined everything.

Blaise had been popping over in his free time to check up on her, and so had Pansy. The trials for all of the death eaters had begun and Draco was spending most of his time with Harry. He was having his own trial today, something she knew that he was terrified about, maybe it was time to leave the Manor after all.

DMHGDMHG

The trials of the captured death eaters were coming to a slow and painstaking end. Draco's father was one of the first to be sent to Azkaban, he was only given a little time to talk to his father, in which he asked about his mother.

Narcissa Malfoy was still yet to surface, Draco knew that she was alive, his own father confirmed this, but where she was or the state of her wellbeing still remained a mystery.

Draco was barely coping.

Hermione was still in the Manor. He could feel the agony she was in, and for some reason nothing he did seemed to help. His heart ached knowing that he couldn't protect his mate properly.

"Malfoy" Potter tapped his shoulder as he walked past, "It's time"

Potter walked past him, Ron Weasley following in suit. Draco and the red head had managed to ignore each other so far. Draco was furious with Ron, maybe, just maybe if Hermione hadn't hit the ground at such a brutal impact, their baby would have survived.

He knew Weasley was suffering already seeing as it was his spell that almost killed his own sister. Draco would let the arguments and blame stop, just this once.

DMHGDMHG

Hermione Malfoy _nee _Granger felt extremely nervous as she walked through the Ministry, Pansy was by her side, incredibly silent, as she had been for the past week. Hermione knew that she had been cleared by the Ministry, just as Blaise had been, but she had heard nothing of the girl's parents.

When they left the Ministry she would ask, yes.

They had avoided the main lobby to escape unwanted attention, Harry had given them specific directions on where to go.

"Hullo Hermione, Pansy"

Hermione and Pansy stopped to see Luna smiling airily at them.

"Hi Luna" Hermione managed a small smile for the blonde.

Luna looked beautiful even though she looked extremely tired. Hermione frowned as she realized she knew nothing on how Luna had been since she was taken to the Manor. She had no idea if Luna's father was okay, no idea if anything had ever come from her and Neville and now idea how she fared in the final battle.

"Harry said you might get lost he must've thought your head was full with wrackspurts but I don't see any around here" Luna mused.

Pansy raised an eyebrow at Hermione, she gave the girl a quick nudge.

"I'm sure" Hermione responded sweetly, "Has Draco gone in yet?"

Luna shook her head, "Not just yet, but we better hurry along if we don't want to miss them"

The girls followed Luna through the corridors, up ahead she could see Ron and Harry walking up to Draco. Harry tapped Draco on the shoulder and said something which she couldn't hear.

Draco must have sensed her presence, he turned around, his stormy grey eyes clashing with her own, lighting up when he realized that she had left the Manor.

"You came" he breathed out, sounding relieved.

Hermione slipped her small hand into his larger on and squeezed it, "Of course I did"

He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off, "We can talk later I promise, but right now we need to go in"

Draco nodded and pulled her along.

"I love you" she burst out before they entered the room.

He ducked down quickly to kiss the top of her head, "And I, you"

There were many people in the room, and Hermione knew almost all of them, various members from the Order, old teachers, including Professor McGonnagall. They all watched on as Hermione entered the room by Draco's side.

"Pansy and I will just be up there" Hermione nodded to a section of seats.

Draco squeezed her hand and swallowed.

It took all her will power not to apparate out of the room with Draco.

Pansy placed a hand on her back and gently pushed her over to Blaise.

"It's good to see you out, even under these circumstances" Blaise whispered to her.

Hermione gave him a weak smile, "It was selfish of me to stay hidden away for so long, and I just didn't know how to face Draco properly"

Across the room, Draco frowned.

Hermione cursed herself inwardly, with any luck he didn't hear what she said.

"Court will now be in session" Kingsley tapped his wand against the desk to silence the room.

"Mister Malfoy, today you will be trialed today on your past actions, the members we have present today will then decide whether they can be deemed serious enough to send you to Azkaban or not" Kingsley cleared his throat.

"Mister Malfoy," he began, "Did you or did you not attempt to murder Albus Dumbledore"

Draco cleared his throat, "I did"

Hermione grabbed onto Blaise's arm, squeezing it tight.

"Did you or did you not restore the vanishing cupboard to allow the death eaters into Hogwarts" Kingsley asked next.

"I did" Draco affirmed.

Kingsley nodded and leaned back into his seat.

This time Professor McGonagall stood from her seat and came forward.

"Mister Malfoy," her tone was a lot more serious than Hermione expected, "How long have you lived under the influence of your father, a convicted death eater, and He Who Must Not Be Named"

Hermione felt sick, it was as if they were condemning him already.

Draco contemplated the question before answering, "Contrary to popular belief, the two influences were very different. From an infant, my father has pushed for me to be better than everyone else and he wanted me to learn dark arts, anything revolving around Voldemort didn't come until he rose back to power. However, you have forgotten one important person, my mother, who is still missing. She always taught me different to my father"

"Due to your _inheritance_?" Kingsley asked.

The blonde nodded and looked directly at Hermione, "From the moment I saw Hermione Granger on the Hogwarts train platform when we were 11, I knew she was my mate, and my mother also knew. The more I learned about Hermione, and passed on to my mother, the more she realized how this put myself and Hermione into a dangerous position. She begged of me to show no indifference to Hermione, and to treat her as my father wished. At that time my father would not have been able to handle the truth, and both Hermione and I would have been killed immediately by Voldemort's followers"

The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Harry" Professor Mcgonagall called out to her best friend.

Harry Potter adjusted his glasses and walked down the short stair way to stand in between Draco and Kingsley.

"During the war, Voldemort attacked Severus Snape, and in his final moments he gave me his precious memories," Harry looked back at Draco sincerely, "I saw many things, but one of the memories stood out the most was a conversation between Severus and Professor Dumbledore"

Harry wiped his palms on his robes and took a deep breath, "Professor Dumbledore was already dying, a curse from an… object was already spreading through his body. He knew of the task that was given to Mal- to Draco, and he asked for Severus to ensure that Draco would kill him in front of the death eaters to save his life, and in turn Hermione's. Professor Dumbledore also made him swear that if Draco failed, Severus would have to be the one to do so there was no speculation about the sides they were on"

Gasps filled the room as they all listened on. No one expected this, especially not Hermione, or even Draco.

She tried to blink back tears at the heroicness of her former professor.

"I don't believe that if Severus had not been so insistent for Draco to complete these so called missions, it is unlikely that he would have ever attempted them" Harry finished.

Everyone was silent as Harry walked back to his seat.

"Miss Granger, oh, I apologize, a Veela bonding is indeed legal, Mrs. Malfoy, if you would please take stand" Kingsley gestured to the open floor.

Hermione stood from her seat shakily, she had not expected to have to say anything during the trial.

'_You can save Draco' _she chanted to herself.

Pansy squeezed her hand as she walked past, slowly she made her way to the open area, giving Draco a reassuring smile.

"Please describe to the room the events leading up to, and during the time you were at the Malfoy Manor" Kingsley smiled at her encouragingly.

Hermione scanned the room, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, where would she even start? Right… the beginning.

"Before Pansy took me to Malfoy Manor, I felt off. I felt as if time was running out, and something bad was going to happen, it was a horrible, horrible feeling. I suppose you could say that when I got to Malfoy Manor, I felt as if a heavy weight was lifted from my shoulders and I could rest easy again.

Finding out that you are bound for life to someone who you thought despised you is definitely shocking. After Narcissa explained things to me, I didn't know what to feel, but I was okay about it. The bond between a Veela and their mate is so strong and so pure, that you could never wish it away once you get a taste of it"

Hermione smiled at Draco and he gave her a smirk back.

"I'm not ashamed to admit it didn't take long for us to bond, the longer we spend as unbound mates, the more anxious I knew we were. During my stay at the Manor, was both horrifying and pure bliss. I met Voldemort and I hated him but I knew that there were things that needed to be done in order to stay alive. I spent a lot time with Draco, Pansy and Blaise, they are all _good _people. Especially Draco, I know that in the past, he was misguided, but those were mistakes of a boy who could never know better. Things are different now"

She breathed in and gave Draco one last look before returning to her seat, there both Pansy and Blaise to her hands.

"Thank you Mrs. Malfoy"

Hermione grimaced.

"On this particular matter, I find myself agreeing with Mrs. Malfoy and Harry Potter. It is my decision, that if the majority rules that Draco Malfoy is to go free, he will become everything in the name of Malfoy will be passed onto him as his father is shunned from our world during this time, and while the efforts are made to locate his mother" Kingsley tapped his wand, "Those in favor of ruling Mister Malfoy guilty, please raise your hands"

A few hands across the room began to raise, the two Slytherins and Hermione held hands tightly, waiting to see if more than half would vote.

"And those who are in favor that Mister Malfoy is free to go, please raise your hands" Kingsley himself raised his hand, and the room began to follow suite.

Hermione began to sniffle as she watched Harry and Ron raise their hands as well. Ron caught her eye and shrugged sheepishly.

"Then we have come to a conclusion. Draco Malfoy, you are hereby free of any charges, but you will also be under probation, any criminal or wizarding offense by you will see you a one way ticket to Azkaban"

Kingsley tapped his wand another three times to indicate that court was closed.

Pansy pulled Hermione from her seat, and the three hurried outside to wait for Draco.

Ron and Harry came first, walking straight over to her.

"Thank you both so much," she wiped away some straight tears, "I know that you don't like him, but what you did in there was incredible"

She threw her arms around Harry first, who patted her back.

"I only told the truth 'Mione" Harry chuckled.

She hugged Ron next, who seemed a little surprised.

"We would love for you to come to the Burrow soon" Ron whispered, "There is so much that we all need to talk about"

"Of course," she sniffed, "There definitely is, and I promise you that I have explanations for the past couple of months, I really am sorry for everything I've put you through"

Ron smiled and gave her a small push.

"Give Ginny my love?" They bother nodded.

Draco appeared at the doorway, Ron and Harry seemed to notice her attention and walked on towards Pansy and Blaise.

Luna passed by her offering her a doey smile before catching up to Ron and Harry.

"Hermione" Draco was grinning from ear to ear.

She flung her arms around his neck, chuckling softly as he had to lift her slightly so she could reach properly.

"You're amazing" he whispered huskily.

His lips crashed down to her, she could feel the weeks' worth of frustration and desire pouring from Draco's body.

"Let's go home" She whispered.

He apparated them away, they would talk to everyone else later, but for now they needed to be with each other.

Hermione would never know how Draco could side-long apparate so well when he was clearly distracted.

They touched down in their bedroom, Hermione had to suppress a shiver thinking about everything the Manor represented.

Draco's lips were on hers again, moving urgently. He pulled her flush against his body and she could feel the evidence of his desire pressing against her stomach, unable to stop herself, she moaned, pressing herself further into his body.

She could feel him kicking off his shoes and she began to do the same.

He moved his lips down lower, nibbling out her neck.

Hermione let out small whimpers as his hands roamed her body.

"I've been waiting so long for this" Draco told her huskily.

Hermione gave him a small smirk, it was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p><strong>So let me know what you thought, and also let me know if there is something that you would like to see, it's always nice to have little sparks<br>of inspiration.**

**And if anyone is good at and loves to write lemons, please make yourself known to me! :)**

**Until next time,**

**Bowties**

**P.S the next chapter is well under way, sadly, it the amount of time it will take me to finish it will probably depend on demand, busy times ahead!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hooray for another update! This chapter is a bit longer than my others, there is a lot of Hermione talking to other people about what's going on.**

**Thank you to the lovely people who reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is the lucky lady who owns Harry Potter and the characters.**

_Edited: Lucius was mentioned before as an absentminded mistake! Thank you for it being mentioned!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

When Hermione woke the next morning, she was fully sated and happier than ever. Draco lay by her side, softly drawing patterns onto her bare skin.

"Morning" she whispered lazily.

He pressed his lips to her exposed collarbone, "Morning".

They both laid silently, hands enlaced until something occurred to Hermione. She had still yet to speak to Pansy.

"Did Pansy's parents go to Azkaban?" Draco tensed up as she asked, "Pansy hasn't told me anything yet, and I haven't had a chance to ask her"

Draco sat up, "Hermione," he began softly, "Both of her parents were found dead after the war"

Hermione gasped and shot up, "I – she – uh – what?!" she spluttered.

Draco caressed the side of her arm, "I'm sure that Pansy didn't want to burden you, but she found out not too long after we got back to the Manor. Her parent's funeral is tomorrow evening"

Groaning, she dropped her head onto Draco's shoulder, "I'm an awful friend Draco, I should have been there for her no matter what"

He rubbed circles into her shoulder comfortingly, "It's okay really, and Theo's been helping her through it"

Theo.

The name rang a bell.

Draco couldn't possibly mean Theodore Nott? Hermione had thought that the quiet Slytherin boy had disappeared. She would have to ask him about that later.

"Draco" Hermione said softly, "you and I still need to talk"

He tensed up once again, obviously on edge, "We can, after breakfast"

Hermione let out a breath, that couldn't come soon enough.

DMHGDMHG

She had been on edge all morning, waiting for the right moment to bring the _issues _up with Draco. They had finally showered and eaten, he had gone off to his library, where she followed him after some time.

"Let's talk" Draco avoided meeting her eyes.

"You knew" she began, "you knew that I was pregnant and you said nothing" she accused.

Draco pinched his nose and let out a breath, "Of course I knew" he answered somewhat harshly, "I thought you researched Veelas, from the moment you fell pregnant, I _knew_. It's a primal instinct. I just didn't want to tell you that I knew until you were ready to talk to me about it"

Hermione cast her gaze downward, "I was foolish" she sniffed, "I thought that I could keep it from you until after the battle was over, I didn't want to worry you, but of course I should have known better, this is not a normal relationship that we have"

They were both silent for a moment.

"As soon as I got to Hogwarts I was attacked," her voice began to crack, "I was banged up but I thought that I would be okay, that the baby would be okay as long as I found you. But I should never have been so stupid, I stressed myself out, I got so knocked around and, and"

She burst into tears.

Draco let her cry for a moment before he gathered her into his arms.

"I should have protected you better" he whispered into her hair.

She shook her head, "There was nothing you could have done to stop me from going there, and we both know that. It was my bad decisions that killed our baby. If only I was more alert, if only I – I…"

Hermione continued to sob. Draco held her tight as he felt the heart of his mate breaking into pieces over their lost child who bore no chance.

"Shh now" Draco ran his fingers through her hair, "Everything will be okay, I love you"

"But Draco" She choked out, "We were in way over our heads, I know that the Veela connection makes things different for us, but a _baby_?"

She could feel his body tense around her.

"Maybe we should start being careful" he whispered, "maybe it's too soon for us"

He was right. They were still children in some aspects.

DMHGDMHG

It had taken hours for Hermione to settle herself down, she still felt more broken than ever, and ashamed at herself for losing Draco's first child on the inside. On the outside however, she was hopefully portraying her usual strong, put together self.

Draco was taking her to Pansy's Manor, from there they would go to Grimmauld Place to see Ginny and the boys.

"Are you ready love?" Draco held out his hand to Hermione.

She gave him a small smile and took it, he pulled her close before apparating them away.

DMHGDMHG

Hermione felt even more horrible upon seeing Pansy. How had she not noticed the dark circles under her eyes, or the limpness in her hair?

Pansy looked like a wreck.

Hermione threw her arms around the girl, "Pansy, I'm so sorry"

Pansy returned the hug, "Thank you," she whispered.

When Hermione let go of her she noticed that they were not alone, Blaise stood in the back of the room watching on and next to him stood another man. He looked to be there age, similarly built to Draco and Blaise, if not a little shorter than them.

From where she was standing, Hermione could only really see his sandy blonde hair.

Draco cleared his throat, "Hermione, I don't believe you've met Theodore Nott, he went to school with Blaise, Pansy and I"

Hermione gave him a small smile, "Nice to meet you."

Theodore nodded, "And you"

Hermione turned her attention back to Pansy, "Pansy, I don't want to be rude, but how long has it been since you've showered?"

Draco snorted at her tactlessness.

Pansy blushed and looked at her first, "Um, probably since the last time I saw you, the days have been blurring together, I seem to forget things"

Hermione chuckled, "Let's go get you cleaned up, and talk"

Hermione sat on the floor of Pansy's large bathroom as the other girl washed down and cleaned her hair in the bath.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been there for you this week, it must've been really hard" Hermione twisted the bottom of her shirt.

Pansy sighed softly, "My parents weren't angels, but I miss them," she admitted, "Maybe if I hadn't been a coward, I could've been there to stop them"

Hermione bit her lip, there was so many could have's and should have's, but they didn't matter now.

"You can't think of it like that" she told Pansy.

"I know" Pansy swallowed thickly, "I just, I don't know, I don't know what to do or how to feel about everything, Theo has been a big help"

"He seems like a really lovely guy" Hermione said earnestly.

The other girl smiled to herself and said nothing. Both of the girls sat in silence for a few moments before Pansy got out of the bath and dressed herself.

"Better?" Hermione asked.

Pansy's head bobbed up and down.

She bit her lip and looked across at Hermione hesitantly, "Hermione…" she began.

Hermione shook her head, knowing what her friend was going to say.

Tears filled her eyes as Pansy pulled her into a hug, "We've all lost too much," Pansy whispered fiercely, "Everything has to happen for a reason, as long as you're okay now, Draco will be too"

"You're couldn't be any more right Pansy" she hugged her back.

DMHGDMHG

It was a couple of hours later when the pair left Pansy's room. Hermione and Pansy had let everything out, confiding in each other, knowing that because of the pain they shared, they could trust each other completely.

Hermione had felt as if a weight was beginning to lift from her shoulders, she could tell Pansy all about her grief and guilt and Pansy listened to it all, knowing that her other friends most likely wouldn't understand, and Draco loved her too much as his mate to let her relive any pain by discussing it.

Although, she did have a feeling Draco was reaching out the entire time, keeping tabs on her emotions.

Draco, Blaise and Theodore were sitting on different arm chairs in Pansy's drawing room, each with a glass in their hand and talking in hushed voices. Upon seeing the girls, Draco stood up, interrupting them the other two.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, putting his glass on the coffee table.

Pansy smiled, her eyes on Theodore as he stood up as well, "Everything is much better thank you Draco"

"That's good" His smile gave Hermione butterflies, she would never get enough of it.

"We should leave to see Ginny?" He asked his mate.

Hermione nodded and gave Pansy a hug, "I will stop by soon"

Pansy squeezed her back, "Thank you for coming today"

DMHGDMHG

Hermione was sick with nerves at facing Harry, Ron and Ginny. Harry had assured her through owl that everyone would be civil and had asked her to ensure that Draco would be the same. The last thing they all wanted was an argument and Draco going off, especially with Ron.

Ron.

She was especially nervous at seeing him. Part of her was still furious that he cast the horrible spell that hit and could have killed Ginny. In the back of her mind she was still desperately clinging onto the idea that it had been Ron that caused her to lose the baby.

Draco could feel the anxiousness emanating from his mate, he reached out to her, grabbing her hand and lightly squeezing it.

"Is this it?" He asked.

Hermione cleared her throat before answering, "Yes, it is"

Pulling him forwards, she let him to the mailbox with the number 11. After they had stopped in front of it, the buildings began to shake and expand to reveal another apartment.

Next to her, Draco gasped in shock.

"In one of the rooms there is a family tree of your mother's side, the Blacks, if everything goes well, I will ask Harry if we can see it"

He didn't respond, but tightened his grip on her hand.

She knew that he was thinking about his mother, they still hadn't heard a word on where she was. Draco never said much about it to her, she didn't know whether this was because he knew she would turn up, or he just didn't want to discuss those matters with her.

This was something that she tried to not think about, how little she knew him in some ways. There would be plenty of time to change that.

He stood there silently next to her as she knocked on the door to 12 Grimmauld Place. His body was tensed and Hermione knew that he was not looking forward to talking her any of her friends.

The door was opened moments later by none other than Harry Potter.

"Hermione," he breathed out, his eyes doing a once over of her to see if she was okay, "Malfoy," he greeted her Veela more tersely.

Draco nodded at him, "Potter" he responded stiffly.

"It's good to see you Harry," Hermione burst out her voice thick with emotion.

She hesitated for a moment, not knowing where she stood with their friendship, but at the last minute she flung herself into her Harry's arms, squeezing him tightly. Behind her, Draco growled softly, not liking his mate in another males arms.

Hermione released herself, not knowing if the Veela could contain himself even though Harry was just her friend.

"Ginny and Ron are inside" Harry told them after she stood back, "Uh, don't be surprised if Ron's temper is worse than what is was before, things haven't been the same since, uh, Fred and then what happened with Ginny" Harry's eyes flickered between the couple and his feet.

"I can imagine" Hermione whispered.

She felt Draco's hand on the small of her back, a comforting gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Harry.

"Uh, well right" he coughed, "Ginny has been waiting to see you all day. Shall we go in?"

Hermione nodded.

The both followed Harry down the hallway, the place was just as Hermione remembered it. Everything had happened so quickly with Draco, it wasn't that long ago that she had been in the house pleading with her friends about her situation with Draco.

"Hermione is here" Harry called out before they entered the small drawing room, "And Malfoy" he quickly added.

Hermione breathed out when her eyes locked onto her two other closest friends. Ginny and Ron were standing next to each other, Ginny fidgeting with her hands and Ron was looking anywhere but at them.

"Hello," Hermione greeted them timidly.

"I'm so glad that you came" Ginny smiled at her.

Hermione walked forwards to give her a hug, trying to ignore Ron moving off to the side.

"Shall we sit?" Ginny suggested, "There is so much for us to catch up on"

Ron sat by himself in an armchair, Ginny and Harry sat on the small sofa next to him.

"Draco" Hermione whispered, tugging his hand, she pulled him down onto another small sofa.

"I'm sorry I haven't seen you all sooner" Hermione apologized.

"Everything has been chaos lately," Ginny shrugged, "actually, we were surprised to see you so soon"

Ron cleared his throat and looked at Hermione, but said nothing.

She pressed herself into Draco's side a little more, "How have you all been?" she asked them softly.

Ginny was about to respond to her when Ron let out a forced laugh.

"How have we been?" He asked sarcastically, "Thanks for caring so much Hermione. You would know if you had been here with us instead of running off and leaving _everything _behind for _him_."

"Draco would've died if I didn't" Hermione cried out in defense.

"What about the rest of us, our friends and family that died?" His voice heightened again, "What about Fred? You left us _all _behind, and while you were over there doing nothing, people were dying here"

"That's not far Ronald" Hermione jumped from her seat, "I'm not the one that shot the curses, how could I have stopped that? I _felt _like I was dying when I was away from Draco…"

She trailed off.

"That's just an excuse" Tears were running down Ron's face now, it was more than unsettling to see him cry, "We shouldn't have let you leave when you came back"

"But Ron," Hermione began softly, "He would have died"

Harry shot out of his seat when he saw Ron rising, his face red with anger.

"Maybe he deserved to die" Ron spat bitterly, before leaving the room, moments later she could hear one of the house doors slam.

Absentmindedly, she her fingers touched her cheeks. They were wet. She hadn't realized that she was crying. Draco reached out and held her hands in his. She didn't see him get out of the seat, or stand between her and Ron.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I didn't expect him to go off so quickly" she told him faintly.

"Harry" Ginny's face was white, "Why don't you take Malfoy and show him the family tree, I know 'Mione mentioned it in her owl"

Harry raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend, but did not question her, "Alright Malfoy, let's give the two girls some space and I'll show you some of your family's heritage"

Draco was hesitant to let Hermione go, but she nodded at him in encouragement to leave, not trusting herself to say anything just yet.

The boys left quietly leaving only her and Ginny in the room.

The redhead came up to her and pulled the girl into a hug, "I'm sorry" she whispered, "I didn't realize Ron would get so angry, he hasn't really spoken much lately so Harry and I just assumed he would mostly ignore you"

"It's okay, he was right in some ways"

Ginny said nothing.

They sat down again and Ginny cleared her throat, "They are reopening Hogwarts soon"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Really? So soon?"

Ginny nodded, "I had an owl from Professor McGonagall to let me know, they are trying to repair the school as quickly as they can. I will be going there soon to help with Harry, mum and dad. She was saying that everyone has the option to repeat their year, which means there will just be double the first years"

Hermione pondered this over, the destruction to Hogwarts was huge, it would take a lot of wizard power to fix it.

"Professor McGonagall said that your year can repeat as well, I don't think many will go back though" Ginny continued.

Could she ever go back to Hogwarts? So much had changed since then, _she _had changed a lot since she was last there.

"Harry?" Hermione asked.

Ginny shook her head, "He's been considering going into Auror training"

That made sense.

"It's a lot to think about isn't it," Hermione mused.

Ginny chuckled, "Yes it is"

A silence fell over them, Hermione shifted in her seat, trying to work up the courage to talk to Ginny about what happened during the war.

"How have you been since…?" Hermione blurted out.

Ginny clasped her fingers together, "I, I have been good. Things could've been a lot different. I was out of action for a few days, but Harry thinks that was more to do with the shock of everything. Actually Narcissa visited me not long after I returned to full health"

Narcissa.

Draco's mother.

The lady who she had heard nothing of since the war had ended. It had been so difficult to even try to raise her name with Draco, so she had just let it be.

"What did she say?" Hermione asked slowly.

"We talked a little, and then she asked me to pass on a message to you, she is living with her sister Andromeda, Teddy is there too. She said that when Draco is ready she will return home. Hermione she doesn't _look _okay"

Hermione sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, "I will talk to Draco about it soon, and it's just, well there is so much going on right now, with everyone, so many things to consider and to do"

Ginny hummed in response.

* * *

><p><strong>NEXT CHAPTER: Hermione and Draco make some choices to set up their life together... Back to Hogwarts? New house?<strong>

**Bowties.**


	11. Chapter 11

My internet has been down for over a week and I had trouble posting this chapter, so fingers crossed the format works out okay! Thank you to everyone that is still following the story :) I just have to edit the next chapter and add a few things, hopefully it will be up before the end of the week. DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and the characters.

**Chapter 11**

The days that followed her visit to both Ginny and Pansy had gone by agonizingly slow. The day after, she had made it known to Draco that she knew were his mother was, he didn't say much, in fact he said nothing at all. It was clear this whole time that he knew where she was, he just hadn't said anything to her.

It did annoy her that he would keep something simple like that from her, she didn't know if there was some protocol on things that were okay to talk about, or things that they needed to mind their own business on. She couldn't worry about this just now, there was too many things to think over.

She had received a letter from Professor McGonagall about the repair of Hogwarts, helping out was definitely something that Hermione was interested in. In some ways, she felt as if it were her responsibility to give back after everything that had happened.

Professor Mcgonagall did mention that her year could choose to repeat, and if they decided not to, there would help to find the jobs.

Hermione yearned to go back to school to learn as much as she could before working full time for the rest of her life, but things had changed, she was older and she now had Draco to think about too.

Then there was the Manor.

It was obvious that she was comfortable living in it, especially since Narcissa would eventually return, followed by Lucius at some point in time.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Draco pressed his lips to the top of her head.

She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face, "Many things" she answered vaguely.

Draco raised an eyebrow and sat next to her on the large sofa, pulling her closer to him, but being carful enough not to knock her open book.

"Oh?" He pressed his face into her neck, "Like what things?"

Hermione shrugged, "Like the future"

"Granger, after all we have been through, don't shut me out now" Draco grumbled.

She chuckled softly, "Technically I'm not really a Granger anymore"

He didn't respond, instead tightening his grip on her.

Sighing, she marked her page and closed the book, placing it next to the lounge.

"My head is just a mess right now and for once I don't know where to start, and this scares me" Hermione let out a slow breath.

Draco kissed the top of her shoulder softly, "Tell me what's on your mind and maybe we can figure it out together"

She swiveled around in his hold, leaning her head against his chest, "Well there's the reconstruction on Hogwarts, and then the possibility of returning, there is nothing more that I want than to continue my education, I don't feel like I am ready just to jump into work, I don't feel prepared. I feel like there is so much for us to do"

He tensed, her words beginning to confuse him.

"I know that there is an undeniable connection between us that is incredible" she spoke up quickly, "but there is still so much that we don't know about each other. I would love to experience first real dates, even a real wedding!"

"You are getting ahead of yourself" Draco stroked her hair, "You are forgetting that we have just come out of a war. Things like that isn't just going to happen it instantly, be rational. We will have a first date, we will get to know things about each other that now one else knows. As for everything else, why don't we just take it as it comes?"

Hermione forced out a chuckle, "Right"

He pressed his lips to the top of her head, "I know you like to plan for everything, my little bookworm, but perhaps for the sake of your sanity we just take everything slowly"

Sighing, Hermione closed her eyes. He was right, of course. Trying to prepare for everything right now would only do her head in and result in high stress.

She knew that there was no stopping her mind from trying to process everything, but maybe if she could focus on one thing at a time she could make it through.

"Draco" she pulled away from him, "When will you see your mother? Ginny told me she is staying with your aunt"

His face turned stone like instantly, "I have no intentions of visiting her any time soon," he frowned, narrowing his eyebrows.

Hermione shook her head, "I hope that you do realize Malfoy Manor is her home, and while we are staying here now, I was hoping that if she were to return home, we might find somewhere for us to make a home out of"

Draco couldn't help but to smirk at how Slytherin his mate was sounding, two birds with one stone.

"I will think about it" he pressed his lips to hers, silencing her from any further comments.

She moaned as he tightened his grip, and pulled her over onto his lip. His lips pressed against hers more frantically, and she responded by pushing herself down onto his hardening member, trying to create more friction.

Hermione moaned as he moved his lips down her neck and along the hint of cleavage that was showing from her sundress. While one of his hands was tangled in her hair, the other slid along her leg, until it reached the band of panties, where his fingers brushed lightly against her skin.

No matter how many times they did this, it always felt as if he was igniting a fire within her.

"Please" she gasped out, his lips moving back up her neck.

He chucked against her throat, his fingers brushing on the exposed skin of her thigh. Frustrated, she thrust her hips forward.

Pushing her panties aside he slid a finger through her wet folds, he brushed her clit with his thumb and she moaned once again.

Draco slid two fingers into her, loving the way that she reacted to him. It felt as if it had been so long since they had been this intimate.

Hermione rocked herself against his hand, moaning even louder as he curled his fingers inside her.

She gasped as he brushed her clit again. She could feel her release building up already, she never wanted this feeling to end, but she knew there would be more to come yet.

"Draco" she gasped out as he slid his fingers in and out faster, "I'm nearly there," she panted.

He tightened his grip in her hair, bringing her head back down to meet his.

Draco added a third finger into her slick heat, he pumped his fingers into her harder than before, and began to rub his thumb lightly around her sensitive bud until he could feel her walls clamping around his fingers.

She cried out loudly, her boy quaking with her release.

He began to slow his movements.

Resting her head against his, she took a few deep breaths and gave him a light kiss before climbing off of the couch.

"Do you have plans this morning?" she asked, looking down into his hooded eyes.

Wordlessly, he shook his head.

"Good" she smirked, her hands slid down to the hem of her dress, before pulling it over her head.

HGDMHG

Later that afternoon, Hermione had decided to go and see Ginny, Harry and Ron to talk about the letter that McGonagall had sent out. Draco took this opportunity to go to his aunt's house, where he knew his mother had been staying to avoid him.

His Aunt Andromeda met him at the door, her face scrunched up in confusion and surprise.

"Draco?" she asked hesitantly.

He nodded, "May I see my mother?" he asked politely.

"Of course, of course, come in" She opened the door wider.

Draco smiled tightly and walked in past her, he noticed that his Aunt seemed worn down. Hermione had told him that his cousin Teddy was left in her care after the death of her daughter and her husband.

Andromeda closed the door behind him, "Narcissa wasn't expecting you, and she is in the living room with Teddy"

He nodded, "Is she okay?" he asked her.

"She is getting there" Andromeda responded slowly.

"And," he hesitated, "Are you okay? I'm sorry to hear about your daughter"

His cousin, it felt too foreign to even attempt to say.

"Thank you" his aunt whispered, bowing her head, "As I am about your father"

He didn't respond. Of course his father could be a decent man every now and then, especially when it came to Hermione being his mate, and the bond that he shared with his wife, but his father was usually a cold, bastard. Especially when it had come to Voldemort returning.

Andromeda took his silence as her que to start moving. Draco followed her through what appeared to be a dining room, then a hallway before she stopped at another set of doors.

Her house was quaint, filled with what looked like muggle objects.

Yes, the house was very _muggle_. No doubt this was something that Hermione would feel right at home in.

His aunt walked through the doors and he followed her slowly.

"Narcissa, Draco is here to see you" She announced.

His mother looked quite surprised to see him. Wordlessly Andromeda picked up the small child that was playing in the center of the room and took him with her.

"Your cousin Teddy" Narcissa spoke softly, "Will you sit, Draco?"

She motioned at a chair across from her.

"I didn't think that I would be seeing you for some time" Narcissa admitted once he had taken his seat.

The photos in the room were distracting him, they didn't move.

"Neither did I," He tore his attention from a photo of his cousin Tonks and looked at his mother, "However, even though Hermione has barely said anything to me, I know that she has been agonizing over you"

Narcissa raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

Draco nodded, "She feels guilty that you are not at the Manor, your rightful home, while we are there every night. I'm only here on her behalf."

"So cold Draco," Narcissa shook her head, "I know you are angry, I'm sorry about everything that happened that day. That was my grandchild too"

A muscle twitched in his face, "That was my child, Hermione's child. You should've stayed with her and Pansy. She was too concerned about finding you and making sure you were okay, and that I was okay to even stay put. Now that child is gone, gone before it could have even had a fighting chance"

He could feel his face flushing with rage. Rage that he had bottled up while Hermione had spent a week weeping over the miscarriage.

"Draconis" His mother whispered, "If I had known that Hermione would've ran straight into the battle, and out in front of that spell, I would have done everything in my power to stop her"

He pursued his lips. He knew that Hermione had spent that first week coming to terms with everything that happened. She no longer held resentment at Ron for casting the spell, or at her friends, or even him. Hermione had tried to tell him that it was her fault, and even after he convinced her otherwise, she decided that it was just a case of something inevitable.

"I've tried" he began, his voice cracking, "to be okay with it now like Hermione is. I'm trying to be strong for her, like father said, '_Malfoys don't show emotion to others'_. But that's driving me crazy, it's tearing me up on the inside"

He clenched his fists, his anger quickly rising at how easily he felt he could talk to his mother about these things.

Narcissa walked over from her seat and kneeled down in front of him, "It's okay to feel these things son, and I'm sure that Hermione would rather you talk about them to her than to bottle it up. The war is over, it's time for things to change" she held his hands in her own.

He thought about their family name, of course things had changed now, even in the early stages of everyone moving on, his family had lost off of the respect that it once held.

Narcissa sighed and stood again, "Stop overthinking about everything, Draconis. I know that there is a lot to be done in this coming year, take things one at a time. I have no doubt that Hermione would rather reside anywhere else but the Manor, why don't you show her our other estate? She may want to get settled before you both start work on rebuilding Hogwarts"

"You seem to know a lot for someone who has been _away_, but of course you are right mother" Draco stood from his chair, readying to leave.

"Portraits talk my son, you gave them quite a fright this morning" His mother shook her head.

Draco smirked, "I'm sure, considering its more action then they will ever get"

Narcissa shook her head, "There are some things a mother does not need to hear"


End file.
